The shia'm
by Loisceles
Summary: AU. A chance encounter with wolves reveals some facts about Tygra that could endanger the world the Thundercats are trying to save. The wolves will do anything to maintain balance and survive.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the series of Thundercats, this belong to Cartoon Network, I think, there's no profit being made from this piece of fanfiction.

**Author notes:** This is based in the 2011 series, but I'm taking liberties with the characters and the events taking place on it. I'm still working on my English grammar, and surely there are many mistakes in this. Feel free to point them out.

I'm taking this story aside from canon before the Thundercats find the location of the spirit stone. Thus, they aren't going to the elephant village, Grune is still pretty much alive, and I'm afraid that Cheetara wont get to confess her feelings to Tygra. I'm taking my liberties with some other canon facts. Also, I'm totally changing Tygra's story, for the purposes of this story Claudus adopted Tygra when he was three, and the story of his parents is very different.

**The shia'm**

**Chapter 01. A Fluke.**

He could not believe this was happening. How could they have let their guards down so badly? The lizards surrounded them quite easily and were beating them with apparently no problem. How? How? How? They were in a rocky cliff with a fine view of the valley and technically no place to hide! How were the lizards able to surprise them? More importantly, why they were being able to drive those stupid big machines, which looked to him like enormous monkeys with tentacles, while they were having problems with the Thundertank?

Tygra was being hard pressured to keep on fighting. He had been shot in the back, too close to where his protective vest had been damaged, and was feeling his blood running down his side. He still didn't feel pain, but that was because he was running on adrenaline. He knew that as soon as he had time to calm down the pain was going to be terrible. On top of that, he was trying to cover Lion-O's back. His brother was successfully tearing the machines apart, but he was offering a small opening on his side when he slashed with the sword. Many may not notice it, but Tygra did, and he was not willing to risk some lucky lizard to hit his brother because of that slight fail in his attacking technique. He kept to his king's side, and shot, and hit, and slashed with the whip.

He had no idea of how bad the wound he carried was. His reflexes were starting to slow down from blood lost, so he wasn't fast enough to dodge the tentacle that came around and grabbed him by the waist. The blast of energy that coursed through his body made him scream in pain. He forced himself to move his arm enough to blast the tendril and free himself. Through the ringing in his ears he could hear Lion-O's frantic calls. He made an effort to get up and continue fighting, even when his vision began to be blurred. They could not afford to lose one of them, or they'd never survive the battle.

Finally, he managed to stand up and started firing at their enemies again. He continued to cover his brother, and was annoyed that the young lion seemed to be more focussed on the other's welfare than in staying alive himself. From the corner of his sight, he spied the Thundertank approaching. It seemed like Panthro had succeeded in putting the damn thing together and the powerful lasers were defeating the lizard's machines quite nicely.

Tygra fell encouraged. All they had to do was continue to hit as hard as they could and with the Thundertank and the sword of Omens combined, they'd make it. He saw the kittens dash inside the vehicle, and Cheetara close to it, finishing off a particularly nasty looking lizard. Only Lion-O was missing.

Tygra looked around wildly to locate his brother. Lion-O was still close to him, but a machine was between the two. When had that happened? Tygra shot the thing and used the whip to get closer to Lion-O. He inserted himself between his brother and one of those pesky tendrils, and got captured instead of the young king. This time the thing didn't give him the chance to use his weapon. It slithered around his upper body quickly, trapping his arms and tightening its hold strongly. Breathing suddenly became a rather difficult task. The same blast of energy repeated itself, and this time Tygra felt he was going to loose consciousness. Far away, he heard his brother calling his name and tried his best to stay awake, to move his hands and shot. He barely opened his eyes, and through the blackness that was surrounding his vision, he could see his brother trying to get to him.

Another painful shock of energy made him scream with what little air he still had in his lungs, and he lost his focus. Whoever was commanding the machine had realized that Lion-O was desperate to save his brother and was using Tygra as bait to lure the Lord of the Thundercats.

Tygra tasted blood in his mouth and couldn't see anymore. He heard the furious roar of his brother as the lion attacked with the full force of the sword of omens. Then came a blast on his injured side and breathing became a bit easier. He felt a hard impact on his back and groaned at the pain, but couldn't for the life of him make any sense of what was happening. Someone lifted him. He felt the movement if not the hands that manoeuvred him. There was worried screaming all around him, and soon the loud roar of an engine going at full march in the background.

* * *

Lion-O was frantic. Stupid Tygra! Getting himself in the way of those machines to protect him! The king didn't need his older brother to watch over him! He could do just fine on his own, thank you!

Everyone had gasped in unpleasant surprise when Cheetara had removed the bloodied vest and they could see the horrible gash that was at the tiger's right side. How in the nine hells had Tygra got that? That must have hurt like hell! How had he been able to move at all?

Cheetara started to work immediately, trying to stop the bleeding, but even if she succeeded Tygra was going to need more help than what they could give him. Their medical supplies were limited, and the cleric feared that there was at least one broken rib in addition to the blood lose.

Panthro hurried towards the front of the tank and started to drive towards a village that they had spotted from the mountain they had just left. He was hoping that the residents would be able to help them with some medicines, and would want to. He was perfectly aware that the lizards were not the only race that loathed the cats.

They were already close to the main gate, when they were stopped by a small contingent of wolves, ready to fight them and drive them away. Panthro was just about to turn around, they didn't need to get themselves in more problems at the moment, but Lion-O got out of the tank before he could stop him. The young lion wasn't ready to give up that easily. His brother could be dying damn it! He had to get help for him!

The Lord of the Thundercats walked decidedly towards the wolves and asked to speak with the Governor of the village, receiving only snarls and angry gestures for his troubles.

"Please! We need your help!"

"It'd be the end of times before we aid the cats again." Answered one of the first wolves in line, who was undoubtedly of higher rank.

"Please, I'd compensate you in whatever way you want. What'd you want me to do?"

"There's nothing you can give us cat! Your species has caused its own extinction and has doomed us all! There's no way you can possible compensate for that."

Lion-O was starting to get angry. Panthro got out of the tank and joined his voice.

"We only need medicines and supplies for someone that is badly injured. Perhaps we can pay for them."

The wolf scoffed disdainfully, and Lion-O clenched his fists, more than ready to take out the sword of Omens and force the wolves to give them what they needed. One of the younger warriors spoke then to their leader.

"Perhaps we could see how badly injured they are…"

The older wolf silenced him with a glare and baring of teeth.

"It's not any of our business the cat's problem. They can deal with it by themselves."

Lion-O felt his blood boil. They didn't have time for this!

"Maybe you should think that it could be you the one asking for help!"

"Ha! Ask a cat for help? I'd rather die, as I'm sure your partner will prefer."

"How can you possibly know what Tygra would prefer? Neither of you know us! You haven't even given him a chance!"

Lion-O was working himself into frenzy. Panthro was trying to pull him back into the tank. If the wolves weren't going to help them, then they shouldn't be wasting time. They had to find some other village or city to get what they needed. However, Lion-O's words seemed to give the chief warrior pause. His face changed to what Panthro assumed was surprise, but he couldn't phantom why the wolf would be surprised.

The lion was starting into a tirade about the necessity to help each others when a voice at the back of the wolves' lines interrupted him.

"What's happening here?"

The wolves parted, letting Lion-O look at the figure of a much bigger wolf, who had to be the Leader. He walked serenely towards the cats, a frown firmly on his forehead. The lion was baffled for a moment, but recovered quickly.

"My brother needs help. He has lost a lot of blood and we only need some supplies to attend to him."

"Brother?" The Governor narrowed his eyes, a flick of recognition passed through them. "You're the son of that king, Claudus, are you not?"

Lion-O blinked in confusion. What that had to do with anything? He was about to demand some action rather than lose precious time with inane questions when Panthro spoke in his place. The older general suspected what the problem was about.

"He is, but his brother Tygra is not."

Lion-O turned to look at him incredulously. Panthro wasn't affected.

"There is no blood relation between them. Tygra was adopted when he was very young."

"Panthro…"

Lion-O was about to protest. The blood relation didn't matter. Tygra was his brother! He didn't realize that the alpha wolf's face had changed and was now a bit pale and without the frown. The growl of the wolf surprised the young king, who turned around, ready to defend his point. The wolf however spoke first.

"Adopted. Since he was about three I bet. And no doubt he's a tiger."

He said those words between clenched teeth and both cats' eyes widened in momentary confusion. Then Lion-O recovered.

"How do you…?"

The governor turned around, not paying him any attention, and gave the gruff order to let them pass. He was obeyed without protest.

Lion-O was about to refuse. He really was. But the fear of Tygra dying was more powerful than the slight feeling of unease that had appeared at the wolf's actions. And so the tank went inside the wood wall that protected the village.

* * *

Tygra was barely conscious when someone entered the tank to aid Cheetara with his injuries. The female cleric had managed to stop the bleeding, but the wound needed stitches and she lacked the supplies and antiseptic for that. The tiger could hear her speak with the newcomer, but couldn't follow the flow of the chat very well. He could only caught Cheetara's anxiety at how much blood he had lost and he seemed to have a few cracked ribs. Nothing life threatening, but certainly debilitating enough to become a hindrance.

He groaned, trying to talk and assure the cheetah that he'd be fine. A blurry figure stepped in front of him and he felt a hand over his eyes.

"You should rest. You'd feel much better when you awake."

Tygra wanted to protest, but a heavy tiredness took hold of him. Unable to fight the exhaustion, he fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Yero, the leader of the wolves' village, waited worriedly in the back yard of his own house for the wolf that had been his counsellor for years to appear. He could hardly believe they were so lucky. Perhaps they were still on time…

"You're worrying too much alpha, it's not good for your health."

The governor turned towards the voice. At the door was an old wolf, covered entirely by a cloak. The hood was over his head, and the only part of the face that could be seen was his nose. He was carrying a staff on his left hand. The alpha was at his side in an instant.

"Kraus, is it him?"

The counsellor nodded and turned minutely to look at the distant trees. Yero sighed, anxious to know more.

"And…?" He prompted.

"He's fine. Not as badly injured as the lion feared. He'd be up and about in three days, less if he gets bored."

Yero waited for two whole minutes, but it didn't look like the older wolf would say more. He growled in frustration.

"What else Kraus?"

The wolf looked at his alpha as if surprised by the question.

"There's nothing more to tell Yero."

"Kraus…" The governor growled menacingly. The other wolf finally sighed.

"There's nothing to do."

That was not the answer that Yero was hoping for. He clenched his fists in frustration and anger.

"Why not? He's the next one! He's still at an adequate age! You can do the ritual when he recovers!"

"No."

"No?"

"The ritual can't be done. Tygra lacks the necessary knowledge to take over the responsibility, or even to perform the ritual successfully."

"But his abilities…"

"Have not developed."

Yero gritted his teeth and cursed. Damned cats! Damn them all, but specially their late king!

"There must be something we can do! We can talk to him, tell him the truth that I'm sure he ignores. You can instruct him, and with luck in a few years…"

"It's too late for that. He should have begun his training since childhood, when his mind was still fresh and open. Right now he has blocked his gift entirely. He never worked with it; it never developed and degenerated instead. He's not going to be able to use it anymore."

"Damn it!"

Yero gave a couple of steps and took his hands to his head in agitation. After a while he sighed in defeat.

"Is there really nothing we can do? Have we lost everything because of a cat's stupid pride?"

Kraus sighed and looked into the distance again. It would be stupid to not try to remedy the situation. They needed Tygra to take over the role that had been assigned to him since before he was even born. If he couldn't do it the balance would be broken, it was already pretty much disturbed, and it would only get worse. Soon, the first signs of the jewels' power would be evident, and then Mum-Ra would be the less of their problems.

"There is something we could try. It's not ethical and certainly an overstep in the boundaries of nature. I'm ashamed to even consider it, but I can see no other solution. If we fail again, then we're doomed. And we already are short of time. If we do try it, our only hope would rest in Tygra's capability to learn fast."

Yero frowned at his counsellor, but heard attentively as the old wolf explained what had to be done. He didn't like it. He considered his race to be above the cats enough to not need to resort to treachery. But they couldn't risk Tygra denying his role and refusing to cooperate. They needed to get the upper hand, and they were short of options. Besides, the cats had taken once from them using force and treachery. It was only fair that they returned the favour.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the series of Thundercats, this belong to Cartoon Network, I think, there's no profit being made from this piece of fanfiction.

**Chapter 02. Younger than anticipated.**

Tygra raised his hands over his head and yawned, stretching his muscles in the process. Almost immediately he winced and pulled his arms down. He was still sore despite going an entire day following Cheetara and the healer's instructions of staying in bed. It had been incredibly boring. What he needed was some exercise to get back in shape. He was not going to lie about uselessly. He was not going to become a burden; that was Lion-O's job.

He escaped his room and got out of the house that the wolves had assigned them. It was a small cabin, close to the town's wall and subsequently to the woods. Tygra found a convenient side door and he slipped out unnoticed. It was still early in the morning, and the majority of the village inhabitants were just waking up and barely starting their morning routines. The door Tygra went out from opened to a path that guided the tiger to a nearby stream. Surely the town got its water from there.

He just wanted to explore a bit. Cheetara would kill him if he took too long and they found him missing for breakfast. He walked along the stream for some minutes, as he was almost sure that it'd guide him to a spring. He found himself lapsing unintentionally into old memories that he had thought long forgotten.

The day they had arrived to the village he had been too dizzy and gone to even realize where he was. But the next day, even bedridden, he had recognized the place, or should he say, the alpha wolf.

Yero had visited him to make sure he was going to recover quickly. Tygra had looked at him for the longest time before a muddy memory had arisen. He knew the wolf, and knew the village of black wolves. He had lived in a nearby town with his parents when he had been a young cub. Yero had been pleased that he had remembered him, and had asked him how had he been treated. Tygra hadn't known at first what to say. He recognized Yero, but too many years had passed by without them seeing each other. Tygra's memories were blurred and tinted in pain for his parents' deaths; besides, he had been three when he had been taken to Thundera. There was not much he still remembered from those early years. Yero had seemed to understand and hadn't pressured much, though Tygra had the feeling that the wolf didn't feel comfortable around the cats, especially Lion-O.

The tiger stopped for a while and leaned on a tree. He crossed his arms and breathed deeply. It was nice to enjoy the peace and quiet of the forest. He vaguely remembered that he used to play close to the stream when his mother visited the wolves. The spring had swallow waters, and the pups had enjoyed getting wet in summer, when it was too hot to even move. Tygra had often joined them.

He closed his eyes and tried to remember more. His hometown had been close, but he couldn't precise which way. He was only sure that his parents used to hang out with the wolves a lot. In fact, he had virtually no memories of his hometown. His mother had really spent a lot of time with the black wolves. They had been practically an extended family to him. At least he thought it had been like that. Everything had changed with his parents' deaths, but Tygra couldn't remember why.

"You should be resting. Those stitches aren't ready yet. It'd be too bad if you manage to reopen the wound."

The tiger smiled despite himself. That voice used to talk to him about the forest and the creatures you could find in it, both real and fantastic. That was one thing that he hadn't forgotten and held dearly inside him.

"Kraus. I'm not doing any strenuous activity. I'm not about to injure myself, I can assure you."

The cloaked wolf only nodded. Tygra didn't remember if he had ever seen the healer's eyes. The voice was the only thing he remembered of the old wolf.

"Have you eaten something yet?"

"No. I was just about to return."

"Very well. How about we walk together?"

Tygra smiled again and started to walk with the healer towards the village. The wolf's presence was incredibly calm and the tiger felt reassured by it, but he couldn't help to talk with him about a particular memory that was starting to distress him.

"I seem to remember that my mother considered you a very dear friend."

"We were close. She and your father were much appreciated by the pack. Their deaths were lamented by all of us."

Tygra closed his eyes in remembered pain. He could almost see the flames that had engulfed his town. His mother had run through the forest with him. She had been injured, but she had carried him trying to reach safety. He could remember listening to his mother's laboured breath as she had run while he had looked at the flames behind them.

The tiger sighed. His mother had reached the wolves' village. And he was almost sure that she had asked them to care for him. But…

"You and your family were always dear to us, Tygra."

The prince bit his lip in annoyance at himself. It had been a long time ago, and he had had a good life with his father and brother. But now that old memories had resurfaced he couldn't help but wonder.

"I understand why you let Claudus take me, but why you never visited? I didn't get to see you again, and it was… confusing. Though I know that you did what you thought best, I'm not a wolf after all."

Kraus made an effort to not growl in anger. So, they had let the cub go, hadn't they? He never had really expected that Claudus had told Tygra what had actually happened, but that didn't mean he was any less affected by it. He tried to comfort himself with the thought that the little tiger had not been treated badly, and had in fact found a family. But he'd never forgive Claudus and Jaga for denying the tiger his gift.

"Things are not always as they seem Tygra. I'm truly sorry we were unable to be present in your life. It should not have been that way."

Tygra shrugged. It didn't matter anymore. He was no longer the shy and fearful cub that had spent his first month in the palace without talking and barely eating. He had adapted, and grown up.

"It's fine. I'm being melancholic I guess. I had forgotten about this place, and everything related to it. I suppose I just didn't want to remember before."

The healer nodded in understanding. There was no real need to tell Tygra the truth about his adoption. The lion was dead. And Tygra will soon forget about him anyway.

They were practically at the side door of the wall, and Kraus was hesitating. There were so many things that could go wrong. He could potentially damage Tygra's psyche. And what if he couldn't stop the magic? His control over the staff had been diminishing over the last few years. Some things had started to change in the forest as a result of that, though they had not been visible yet.

He didn't want to hurt the tiger unintentionally. If only the cat had developed a bit of his gift, they would have had the chance to find a different solution.

"Tell me Tygra. Do you remember the stories I used to tell you? About the forest and what lies within it."

'_And below it.'_ Thought Tygra absently and frowned. Kraus had pictured the forest almost as a living thing by itself. Magical, and containing many secrets. Tales for a toddler, like he had been.

"Not much I confess. I was barely three when I left. My memories are fragmented at best. I just don't recall many things of those times."

"I suppose it's normal. You used to be so sensitive, you said that you could feel the forest and talk to it."

Tygra scoffed in embarrassment. It was true that when he had been a toddler he had used to think that there had been voices around him, talking things he hadn't understood. He had used to have strange dreams that he didn't remember anymore. Sometimes, even had believed that someone had been watching him when he had been alone. Jaga had said it would pass, and had done something; some kind of meditation with him, and the dreams had stopped.

"I had an active imagination. I believed in tales and fantasies. Jaga helped to put things in perspective."

"Really."

Tygra thought he heard a growl under the simple word, and looked at the wolf in confusion. Kraus shook his head and sighed.

"We should never abandon imagination. It's a wondrous thing."

Tygra smiled. They were standing just outside the entrance. The sun was already up and no doubt Cheetara and the others had already discovered his absence.

"I should go to the cabin before Lion-O decides that I can go without breakfast today."

"Oh yes. It's getting late, and you should drink this before you eat anything else."

The wolf produced an amber flask. Tygra looked at it and made a disgusted face. It was the nutritive infusion he had been taking the entire previous day. He had consumed at least six litres of the thing, and it tasted awful. It was supposed to help him recover from the blood lost, but he felt fine already.

"Ew. Can't we forget that? I'm not dying of anaemia, and I feel perfect."

"You were very weak. And it's better safe than sorry."

"But I don't like the stuff!"

Tygra actually whined and Kraus was very tempted to compare him with a spoilt little child.

"It's the final dose. Just drink it without thinking about the taste."

Tygra scrunched his face in distaste, but took the flask anyway and drank the entire contents in one gulp.

Something was wrong.

The taste was not the same. It was a bit more acid and had a touch of a sour fruit. Almost immediately he started to feel dizzy and like a hot ball had sunk into his stomach. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees, feeling the world turning around. His eyes widened and he looked at the healer in horror.

"K-Kraus?"

"I'm sorry Tygra. You'd understand later."

The staff began to glow and a brilliant light surrounded Tygra, who screamed in anguish. His vision blackened and he lost consciousness.

Kraus felt the energy of the stone pull at his own as he tried to control its course and intent. It was too much. He could not allow the magic to escalate, or he'd lose his precarious grab on it and it'd be a disaster. He concentrated hard on the flow of energy and attempted to stop it. It retaliated and almost knocked him down. Kraus grabbed the staff with both hands and focused entirely on containing the magic that didn't want to leave Tygra's body. Too much. It was too much, too long. He had to stop it now!

With great effort, he finally succeeded in retaining the energy and forced it back into the staff. Some of it dispersed, and yet a bit was assimilated by the tiger. Kraus gave a few deep breaths in exhaustion. The magic was starting to reject him. It won't be long before he'd had to stop using the staff to prevent an accident. Maybe he'd still have a few years, but no more than six.

He looked up to the point where Tygra had been, and stared.

Tygra had not been wearing his armour, only shirt and pants. Both articles of clothing were now lying in a heap on the ground, and a bump revealed something rather small moving around under them.

Kraus gulped. He couldn't force himself to approach the pile of cloths. He looked as the bump finally found a way out and a tiny face appeared. The wolf felt his blood freeze. The cub looked at him and big brown eyes widened in recognition. It took moments for the small tiger to untangle himself and ran precariously towards the cloaked figure of the healer.

"K'aus! You here!"

"Oh dear."

Sweet benevolent spirits! It had been too much! Damn, damn, damn! This was not what he had been aiming at. The spell was supposed to end when Tygra reached an age suitable for him to start learning how to control his innate magic. Perhaps six or seven. Not three! He was too young to control spiritual energy, and his gift would be erratic for at least another two years.

He looked down at the cub, whose eyes were starting to get wet. He had been fully prepared to explain a seven year old why he was in the wolves' village instead of the cats' palace, but now he felt lost.

He sighed in resignation. At least he had been able to stop the spell before it killed Tygra. He picked the cub up and felt the tiny fists grabbing onto his cloak tightly. A quiet sniff was heard, and Kraus patted the child's back comfortingly.

"Come Tygra. We'd find a way around this. Somehow."

He walked into the village, already setting his mind into the oncoming confrontation with the rest of the cats.

* * *

Lion-O was considering ordering everyone into the tank and just go. Tygra was better, and he had stayed in bed at Cheetara's insistence all the previous day. The tiger was not one to deal well with sickness, unless he felt really bad he always complained when he was ordered to rest. No doubt he had suffered the bed in boredom for the entire day.

The lion scowled, looking at the wall of his room. If Tygra felt up to it, they were leaving that very day. His brother could still rest in the tank; his injuries had been treated and were not incapacitating him any longer. Lion-O was feeling restless. There was something wrong with the black wolves, and it was not only the fact that they had known Tygra since he had been a cub that was bothering the young king.

They were hiding something. Lion-O didn't think that the alpha had been entirely truthful when he had spoken to them about Tygra's past. The lion didn't doubt that the tiger's parents had been good friends with the wolves, or that they trusted them with their cub when they were out hunting. Yero had also told them that the tigers' town had been close to theirs, just half an hour walking through the forest, and that they had traded supplies on a regular basis. He had even told them how the town had been annihilated by the rats, and how Tygra's mother had barely managed to get her cub to safety. But there was something else there. Lion-O couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was that was making him unease and distrustful of the alpha wolf. Maybe the way he looked at him, with barely concealed disgust, was what had Lion-O's nerves taunt. He wanted to get away from the wolves' village as soon as possible.

Making his mind, he got out of the room ready to tell the others to be prepared to leave. He found Cheetara passing along the small dining area, evidently distressed.

"Cheetara? What's wrong?"

The female cleric paused and looked at him with some surprise. Then she sighed and shrugged.

"Tygra is not in his room."

Lion-O was about to panic at that announcement, but Cheetara continued without giving him the chance to think much about the implications.

"I'm probably been silly. His wounds weren't that bad after all, and surely he just went out for a walk. But he's supposed to be resting! And he promised he'd take things easy!"

Lion-O relaxed when he realized that nothing bad had happened, and that Cheetara was only miffed that Tygra wasn't following her instructions.

"Don't worry Cheetara. He'd be back soon. Tygra had never liked to stay in bed for too long."

He was actually glad that his brother had fled the room. That meant he had recovered, and that they could go back to their quest without further delay. He didn't want Tygra to get comfortable in the wolves' company. The tiger had recognized the place already and had been remembering bits and pieces of his early childhood, though he had not been entirely open with the alpha, and Lion-O would prefer that his brother didn't get too close to the old wolf. Maybe he was being paranoid, but he'd sooner listen to his instincts than receive nasty surprises. The attack on Thundera had taught him that.

Panthro joined them, and the kittens woke up when Cheetara was making breakfast. They waited for Tygra, but after nearly an hour had passed the lion started to feel restless. He decided to go looking for his errant brother and make sure that everything was ok.

He found a commotion going on close to the alpha's home. There were a few wolves, and the healer at the middle of it all, apparently trying to explain something. Lion-O looked at the baffled face of the alpha, and could have sworn that the wolf would have been gaping in astonishment at whatever the healer was showing him if it wouldn't look so undignified.

Out of curiosity Lion-O gave a few steps towards the small group. One of the warriors heard him and moved to face him, allowing him a good view of the healer in the process.

At first Lion-O thought that the old wolf was carrying a bundle of cloths, but then the bundle moved and the lion could see that it was a cub.

A tiger cub.

Anxiety grabbed him, and he hurried over to where the healer was trying to make a still shocked alpha wolf to say something. Once Lion-O took a good look at the cub, he decided that the alpha's reaction was the appropriate one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the series of Thundercats, this belong to Cartoon Network, I think, there's no profit being made from this piece of fanfiction.

**Chapter 03. Dealing with a cub.**

Yero looked as his healer and counsellor went to the forest, following Tygra. He was still displeased with their chosen course of action, but he couldn't see any other solution. Even if the tiger accepted his role, he would have to return to be a cub anyway. He needed to be at the proper age to learn to control his gift, and by Kraus' assessment he had lost the opportunity to do so long ago.

Still, it irked him to do things without the other's knowledge. He would have liked to talk with the tiger first, but he knew that it would be difficult to get him away from the other cats, and Tygra didn't really trust them anymore. Besides, he'd abide to the lion's wishes. It was clear to Yero that the two cats were close, and he knew that once a tiger chose his loyalties he stuck to them to the end. Tygra would never leave his adopted brother now, and they didn't need the rest of the cats getting a hold of a power stone that could potentially destroy them all. They had the one of the sword and were looking for the rest already; maybe they'd be able to find the other two stones. It'd be dangerous for them to have all four of them!

"You are gambling in a dangerous game, alpha Yero."

The wolf sighed and turned to look at his companions. A chameleon was leaning on the opposite wall of the room. The big eyes were narrowed and focused on him.

"Would you rather deal with the rest of them? I'm not telling the cats about the stone, or the Shia'm. They have enough power as it is with the sword, and Tygra is not fit to bond with the staff thanks to them!"

"Regardless, it'd be much easier to just kill him, and let the stone choose another bearer."

The wolf growled and bared his teeth. The other occupant of the room talked before the alpha had time to show his displeasure at the chameleon's comment.

"I'd agree with Zama, but we really have no idea of what would happen if the chosen bearer dies without bonding with the stone. It may not choose another, and then we'd be as stuck as we are now." The one who talked was a crow. The alpha turned to him but didn't comment.

"Damn rats." The chameleon spat. They had been trying to make the stone choose a different bearer since it had become evident that they had all but lost the tiger. Another voice joined the discussion.

"Why not try to reach an agreement with the cats? I'm sure everything would be easier if the other species are aware of the danger."

The three animals turned towards the source of the voice. There was a mirror made of quartz rock on a table, it was glowing softly and over its surface one could see the reflection of an elephant. Their kind didn't venture out of their secluded village too much, so they had invented the artefact to keep in touch with the other species, though they sometimes forgot what it was for, and it was necessary for someone to call them.

At the moment, the wolf huffed in annoyance.

"And risk another attack? We were foolish enough to let rumours reach the rat's ears. We are not taking chances with the cats."

The other two agreed with him, but the elephant sighed.

"Rumour being the key word here my friend. A rumour can be misunderstood where a truth given in confidence cannot."

The crow shook his head.

"How can we know they're not going to simply try to use the stones for their own gain? These are cats! The tigers were different. They never dealt with Thundera, and the cats' king never looked out for them. Their own kind estranged them, and they in turn cut all ties with them. They lived in peace with the rest of us. No one can say the same about the rest of the cats."

"We can't trust the cats." Said the chameleon. "They'd betray us like their ancestors did."

"It's dangerous to judge an entire species by the acts of a few individuals."

"Nevertheless," said the wolf, "I'd prefer to keep them ignorant of this. I don't trust them to not have the hunger for power their ancestors displayed. We cannot put this particular stone in jeopardy."

The other two agreed, and the elephant sighed in defeat. It was too much to expect for the animals to just forget years of hatred. He was happy that his village had little contact with the rest of the world.

They discussed for some time, worrying about alternatives to deal with the cats if they refused to leave the tiger behind, which was the most likely scenario. Yero looked out the window from time to time, expecting to watch Kraus return with a young kit running by his side.

However, when the healer finally appeared, it was not with the kid he had been expecting to see. Yero looked in astonishment at the small figure Kraus was carrying and his mouth went dry.

"A bit younger than expected, isn't he?" Zama's voice hissed at his ear.

Yero cursed loudly and stormed out of the room and the house. Theus, the crow, joined the chameleon at the window.

"Dear gods. This doesn't look good."

They watched as the beta warrior and two more wolves joined the alpha and Kraus in front of the house, and hide amongst the shadows when they saw the lion coming.

* * *

"What the hell…?"

Yero was without words. Kraus had covered the cub with the discarded shirt, and the tiny thing was holding onto the healer's cloak for dear life. Yero was afraid that the tiger had been hurt, but he couldn't bring himself to lift his hands and take the cub. He had not been expecting a three year old to be dropped on them. He just looked in bafflement as Tygra looked around fearfully, trying to assess if it was safe to let go of Kraus.

"I'm sorry alpha." The healer was explaining in a calm voice. Too calm for the situation, in Yero's opinion. "The magic wouldn't let go of him. It almost went out of control."

This was not happening. It couldn't be happening! They had needed Tygra to learn quickly, they were short on time! He was barely listening to Kraus explanation, and he was very busy panicking to notice Lion-O.

The Thundercat elbowed his way in front of the healer and proceeded to gape at the cub. Tygra looked at him once with wide fearful eyes and proceeded to bury his face in Kraus' cloak. The lion's nostrils flared, clearly recognizing his brother's scent and simply not believing it. He started to babble and move his arms in agitation.

"W-what…? When…? How could this…? What the hell happened? Is this Tygra? Tell me it's not Tygra!"

"I wish he wasn't, unfortunately…"

"What in the bloody hell…!"

The young king was beyond coherent speech. He extended his arms towards the cub and tried to grab him, intent on taking him away from the wolf. However, Tygra screamed as soon as he felt other paws on him and tried to climb over the healer's shoulder in an effort to get away. Lion-O retired his hands, afraid that he had hurt his brother.

The commotion was attracting the village's attention, and soon Cheetara and Panthro were behind Lion-O, trying to see what was going on. Both cats looked at the cub in Kraus' arms and at their distraught king, and quickly put two and two together. Panthro was about to demand an explanation, when Yero finally seemed to get over his shock and ordered his two top warriors along with the cats inside his house, where they could talk in relative privacy.

Once inside, Cheetara tried to take hold of Tygra, but the little cub refused to let go of Kraus. That was until Tana, Yero's mate, appeared and approached the healer.

"What's going on?" She questioned. Tygra looked up at the sound of her voice and immediate recognition crossed his eyes.

"Tana!" He lifted his arms towards the female wolf, evidently asking to be held by her.

"Oh, forest spirits, what happened?" She took the cub in her arms and turned to look at the rest of the people in her living room, evidently expecting an explanation.

Yero and Kraus had prepared what they were going to say, or rather what the healer was going to say, seeing that it was he the one who had 'found' Tygra.

"I left the staff to purify in the spring the entire night. Its magic has been erratic lately; I was hoping to balance it. Apparently, Tygra found it and somehow managed to interfere and got himself caught in the flow of energy. It was almost out of control when I arrived."

The wolves' expressions were of horror and disbelief. The cats didn't know how the staff worked, but understood that whatever Tygra had disturbed it had been the cause of his de-aging. One of the warriors spoke.

"What was he doing out there? Everyone knows not to approach the spring when the staff is being purified."

"Everyone who is not a cat." The other warrior pointed out, and the first dropped his ears in painful realization.

Lion-O continued looking at his brother in anguish. It was evident that the cub was distressed. He had the same death grip on Tana's clothes that he had had on the healer's cloak, and was avoiding looking at the rest of the animals. The lion's brain was not working for the moment. He knew he had to do something, but couldn't make enough sense of the situation to act. Yero was the one that asked the question everyone wanted the answer to.

"Can you fix it?"

Kraus looked at him seriously. For a second he was actually grateful that things hadn't gone quite to plan. He doubted that Yero could act the anxiousness that he was displaying at the moment. Unfortunately that was little consolation, because he really couldn't do anything to reverse the spell he had cast on Tygra, not even age him some years. To do so would injure his mind seriously. He answered with total resolution.

"There's no 'fixing' this. We could hurt him badly if we try. He was lucky that I managed to stop the magic at all."

The cats didn't take those news well. Lion-O was on his feet in an instant.

"You mean to tell me, that my brother is going to stay like that? There's nothing that can be done?"

"Unfortunately no. The magic is too powerful, and he'd lose his mind if we force it on him again. I'm sorry, but there's nothing more than let time pass… again."

Lion-O shook his head and walked some steps towards Tana.

"No. That can't be true."

"Lion-O!" Cheetara grabbed his arm, trying to calm him. They had to reason the situation. Magic was wild and unpredictable if no one was harnessing it. The healer was right. If Tygra had triggered some spell by accident, they'd only hurt him trying to reverse something that they didn't know how exactly worked. But Lion-O was upset, and very worried to listen.

"There must be something we can do! We can't leave Tygra like this!"

"You have to calm down Lion-O. I'm sure we'd find a solution, but you can't lose control."

"What am I supposed to do then? If they can't help us we're out of here!"

He turned around and extended his arms, asking for the toddler. But Tygra was not looking his way, and it was evident that he wasn't letting go of Tana. The female wolf threw him a reproachful look. Cheetara tried again to get her king to calm down.

"Please Lion-O, you're scaring him. We must try to be reasonable."

"Reasonable? With this?"

Lion-O growled in frustration, more than ready to just snatch the cub away. Panthro took him by the arm, and pulled him away from the wolf and Tygra. Cheetara stepped in his place and the two females tried to make the little cub acknowledge the cheetah. Tygra barely turned his head, but refused to look at Cheetara or speak to her, and he cringed when she caressed his head. The cleric frowned, realizing that Tygra was afraid of them. Lion-O was still fighting his anger.

"Why isn't he recognizing us? What else did your staff do?"

"That's not magic. He's three years old. He technically doesn't know you yet. He practically lived here, his parents brought him over daily. As far as he is concerned, we are his family and the only cats he has ever seen have stripes."

Lion-O clenched his fists, while the alpha wolf looked worriedly at his mate and the cub. Tygra had never acted like that when he had been a toddler. He had been a curious and energetic child, always happy to mingle with new people, until…

"Perhaps we should see exactly what he remembers. He was three when…"

"I think," said Tana a little forcefully, "that all of you need to have breakfast and calm down. Cheetara and I are going to take care of Tygra. It's no wonder he's scared with all the tension in the room, and all your screaming." She turned around and signalled the cheetah to follow her, talking softly to the cub. "Come dear, let's see if we can find you some clothes. You must be hungry, it's very late for breakfast."

Both females left, leaving a dumbfounded assortment of males behind to fend by themselves.

* * *

By early afternoon it was clear that Tygra was stuck in his three year old form, memories included. Cheetara and Tana had determined that the last of the cub's recollections were perhaps of the destruction of his hometown. Though they were not able to find out much else. Tygra was not willing to speak freely, at least not in front of the female cat. That was saddening Cheetara a lot, especially because she wanted to hold the little cub and reassure him, but Tygra had denied her that small comfort. The tiger was afraid of her, and that hurt. She had known him since she had entered the clerics, and cared deeply for him. Hell, he even flirted with her whenever he had the opportunity! Cheetara wanted to cry.

The female cleric walked towards the cabin, where Lion-O was trying to enter the book of Omens, looking for assistance. Cheetara was also worried about the lion. Loosing his father had been bad enough, and now he was technically loosing Tygra too. She feared that he'd let his anguish guide his actions.

For the moment, she was sure that her king was not going to like the fact that she had left Tygra with Tana. She had had no other option. The cub didn't want to go with her, even when both females had spent the day talking and trying to make him more comfortable with the cheetah.

Cheetara sighed and looked back towards the alpha's home. Something that Tygra had said when Tana had been trying to coax him to say hi to Cheetara was still ringing in the cheetah's ears. He had said _"bad cats"_ while looking directly to her.

Tana had immediately apologized and explained that Tygra's real family had not been fond of the rest of the cats. Some members of said family had been starting to teach Tygra to be distrustful of any cat that wasn't a tiger.

Cheetara almost cried. The look on the cub's eyes had been of such… resentment. She didn't think Tygra's behaviour was only due to hateful words from a relative directed at no one in particular. There had to be more.

She had asked how had Tygra ended up in Thundera, and Tana's behaviour had immediately changed. She had only said that King Claudus had found the village and had taken Tygra with him. She had not elaborated more. The cheetah remembered having once asked to one of the clerics why had the King adopted Tygra. He had said: _'Because a cat should not be raised by wolves.'_ She hadn't understood then, but she thought she did now. She absently wondered how exactly had Claudus discovered Tygra's town. What should she tell Lion-O?

She entered the cabin to find the young king passing back and forth with a deep frown marring his face. Panthro and the kittens were not on sight.

"Where are the others?"

Lion-O stopped and looked up, noticing immediately that Cheetara was alone.

"They are preparing the tank. Where's Tygra?"

"He's with Tana. He's still refusing to let me hold him."

"You should have brought him over. We are going."

"Where to Lion-O?"

"To some place where they can help him!"

"And where is that place exactly? Lion-O, we have no idea of what really happened. We can end up making it worse. If the healer cannot reverse his own staff's magic, I seriously doubt we'd find someone else who can."

"They don't care about Tygra! They didn't want to help us when we arrived! How could you leave him with them?"

"Lion-O calm down! I know that you're worried about him, but I do think that they really care about Tygra. They helped us as soon as they heard his name. And right now they know more about him than we do."

Cheetara raked her hands through her hair and sighed. Lion-O had turned around and was really trying to control his temper, but it was hard. The cleric continued.

"He doesn't know us Lion-O. We think that he's mentally around the time when his home was destroyed. That means that he has just lost his entire family. He needs to be around people he trust, and right now we are not considered as such."

Lion-O clenched his fists and growled.

"So, what are we supposed to do? Just leave him here and continue our way? I won't do it Cheetara. I don't trust the wolves! They are hiding something; I could feel it since we put foot inside this damned village! I'm almost sure that this whole mess is because of them! Tygra is not stupid. He wouldn't have approached any strange magic that crossed his path! Especially considering that he was starting to remember things about this place. Surely he'd know if the staff had been dangerous to be close to!"

"Well, what does the sword say? Does it show you that something is amiss?"

Lion-O growled again in frustration. Neither the sword nor the book of Omens had worked earlier. It was as if they didn't have anything to show to him. That generally would mean that there was no imminent danger around, but Lion-O didn't agree.

"It shows nothing. But that doesn't matter right now."

"But Lion-O…"

"I'm not leaving my brother here Cheetara! We're going tonight, and he's coming with us!"

Lion-O got out of the cabin in search of Panthro. Cheetara sighed and massaged her temples. She sincerely hoped that Lion-O reconsidered his actions. If they ended up hurting Tygra, the lion was not going to forgive himself.

* * *

Yero was not happy when Lion-O demanded Tygra to be handed over to him. He claimed that he wanted the cub to get used to them again, and Tana surprisingly agreed. She said that they were Tygra's kin after all, even if he didn't remember them. Lion-O instinctually recognized a potential ally in her and pointed out that he was his brother, and that he just wanted Tygra to feel more at ease around him.

Yero knew it was an excuse. He was sure that Lion-O wanted to leave and he was stubborn enough to take the cub with him. It was Claudus all over again. Like father, like son. Though Tana didn't agree. She had somehow gotten the idea that the cats were staying with them. Being the mother that she was, she didn't believe that anyone would seriously consider taking a cub to a dangerous travel.

The wolf didn't want to let go of the cub. Lion-O couldn't press his point too much, because Tygra was hiding behind Tana's legs, and was pretty much evident that he wouldn't go with the lion willingly. The king was utterly frustrated by this, but he did his best effort to not show it. He needed Tygra to trust him. It was killing him to know that his brother, who had always been by his side, didn't remember him.

Tana perceived his anguish and tried to coax the little tiger to speak to the lion, but Tygra refused. Yero scowled at the fear the cub was displaying. If only they knew what Tygra was thinking, or why he apparently had decided that he didn't like the other cats. Not that he was complaining about the last part, but it was unsettling to see the usually social and blabbering cub so… mute.

Finally Tana proposed that they have dinner in the cabin with the Thunderians. If Tygra relaxed enough to play with the kittens, maybe they could coax him to spend the night there. Yero was sure that it won't happen, and he didn't like the idea at all, but accepted under duress of his mate's glare. Tana always considered family to be the most important, and she couldn't let Tygra lose his one more time. Yero only hoped she wouldn't be extremely disappointed and sad when Lion-O showed his true colours to them.

So, they went to dinner with their guests in an attempt to make Tygra warm up to the cats.

The cub was very distressed and for the first fifteen minutes refused to let go of Tana, sitting in her lap and avoiding eye contact with the rest of the world. Then Wilykit started to play her flute and Tygra's ears twitched. He cautiously turned around and looked at both kids dancing at the tune. He started to smile. Then Kat showed him some colourful balls and threw them to the air, making them spin and turn. Snarf also appeared and jumped into his lap. Tygra was surprised, but he pet Lion-O's companion all the same.

Little by little, Tygra grew interested in the games the kits were showing him, and soon he was on the floor, aching to go and investigate them, but still not letting go of Tana's skirts. The female wolf patted his head lovingly, and the cub looked up at her with worry written on his entire face.

"You can go and play with them sweetheart. I'd be right here."

Tygra still wasn't so sure. He looked around to see where the rest of the cats were. No one knew that the cub actually remembered the castle and king Claudus, and didn't like the fact that the cats were still around. He feared that they'd take him away from Tana and Yero again.

Snarf rubbed himself on his legs, and Wilykit promised that they'd not leave the room. The cub finally surrendered to his curiosity and tentatively approached the two older kittens. They quickly engaged him into playing with the balls and soon Tygra was smiling and running along with them, though he still turned to look at Tana from time to time to assure himself that she was still there.

The evening went smoothly from then on. Tygra even took a seat beside Cheetara for dinner. It wasn't until Tana and Yero were getting ready to go that things deteriorated.

They were unable to convince Tygra to stay with the cats for the night. Lion-O would have insisted, but Cheetara managed to make him see that they'd have to give Tygra his space and respect his choice for him to trust them. Kit hugged the small tiger tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Tygra made a face.

"Oh, you're such a cute baby Tygra!" She said with glee.

Tygra pushed away, and was about to inform her that he was not a baby. He was three years old, almost four, and his mother had recently told him that he was about to be a big brother. So, he certainly was not a baby, his new brother would be.

He froze, suddenly remembering that his mother was no longer with him. There had been flames, and screams, and they had run through the forest. She had fallen just reaching the wolves' village and hadn't get up again. His mother was dead. There would be no baby.

Kit noticed the change and the way Tygra's eyes were misting. She tried to caress the cub's face, wondering what had happened.

"Tygra? What's wrong?"

The cub looked around and dashed directly towards Tana, who picked him up and held him tightly, sharing worried looks with Yero.

"It's ok sweetheart. What's the matter?"

Tygra sobbed and Tana looked at Wilykit for an explanation. The kitten looked as confused as the rest of them.

"I don't know what I did. I just hugged him, I swear."

"Tygra love," Tana said, trying to calm down the distressed cub, "what is it?"

The tiger didn't answer and Tana sighed.

"Do you want to go to sleep?"

A tiny nod. The wolf patted Tygra's back.

"Ok, then say goodbye to our friends."

Tygra did an effort to blink away his tears. He'd not cry in front of the cats. They were guests, and his father and Yero had always told him that one should be in his best behaviour when visiting someone. He turned around and waved his hand shyly to say goodbye. The cats answered him and Lion-O approached.

"How about you come early tomorrow to play again with kit and kat? Would you like it?"

Tygra looked doubtful, but he nodded. He flinched a bit when Lion-O patted his head with affection, but didn't try to get away. The lion was willing to consider that an improvement.

As soon as the wolves and Tygra left, Lion-O sat heavily on a coach and sighed. Cheetara and Panthro soon were at his side.

"So, I take it you have reconsidered what we must do?" Said the cheetah. Lion-O looked towards the door with longing.

"I know that we can't just snatch him away, not if he's not comfortable enough with us. But I haven't changed my mind. We need to continue, and I'm not willing to leave him behind."

Cheetara and Panthro exchanged a look and the general spoke.

"Perhaps it would be best Lion-O. At least until he's a bit older…"

"I'm hoping to find some way to return him to normal Panthro! I want him to remember me, all of us, and he won't do that if he stays here!"

"But we are in a dangerous quest Lion-O. Tygra is just a cub…"

"The kittens manage well enough!"

"The kits are older and used to fend for themselves! Tygra is far too vulnerable Lion-O. We'd need to be constantly protecting him."

"We'd manage. And he's going to be normal again, I'd find a way with the sword of omens!"

Both older cats just sighed in defeat. Lion-O would not relent. The young king stood and walked to his room.

"Just be prepared. As soon as we find the chance, we'd get out of here."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the series of Thundercats, this belong to Cartoon Network, I think, there's no profit being made from this piece of fanfiction.

**Chapter 04. Sneaking away… unnoticed?**

Despite the rocky beginning, Tygra seemed to accept kit, kat, and snarf as playmates. As long as they played within view range of Tana, the tiger didn't mind their company. He hadn't talked much yet, and hadn't asked for Tana's pups or his other friends. Yero was thankful for that, as he wouldn't know what to tell the cub, so he was not pressing his luck.

Tygra however was very observant. He had noticed that Tana's pups were not in the house, and that the rest of the wolves were keeping their distance. He also noticed that the cats were trying to make him leave Yero's home and go with them.

He was pretty much confused and a bit scared. One moment he had been in the gardens of the palace, trying to find a way to get out without being noticed, and the next he had found Kraus. He didn't quite understand how they had gotten to the village so soon without the shadows. He knew that the black wolves could use the shadows to move faster, his father had told him about it, and he had watched Kraus and Yero doing it. He hadn't given it much thought, the how was not important, what was important was that Kraus had gone for him. The old cat had lied. He had told Tygra that the wolves knew that the best place for him was with his own species, because wolves had not a clue of how to raise a cat.

It had been a lie. Tygra had not believed it, and had waited for days for Yero or some other to show up, and explain to him why he was with the cats. He had been so happy when he had found Kraus and had been taken home again.

But the cats were still there.

Tygra knew that the cats were not supposed to be there. These cats were not tigers, and his family had always told him that only tigers were allowed in the wolves' village. But King Claudus had entered to take him away, and now these new cats were living there. Tygra was afraid. He supposed that they had been sent to take him to the palace again, and he didn't want to go. His mother had left him in the wolves' care. Yero and Tana had promised her that they'd raise him. He had to stay where his mother told him to. Maybe if he could show the cats that he wanted to stay with Tana, they'd leave.

Tygra didn't understand why King Claudus wanted him to live in the palace. The other cats hated tigers, didn't they? His uncle had said so. Tygra's mother had always complained that he shouldn't say such things to the cub, but had never said that it wasn't truth, so it must be. But these cats didn't act like they hated him. Not even like they hated the wolves, though they kept their distance. They seemed to be too interested in Tygra, and the little tiger didn't like that. He couldn't phantom what the cats wanted with him. He could see no reason for them to want him to go with them, and he didn't trust them.

On the other hand, he was starting to like Kit and Kat. They were still cubs, just older than him, and they wanted to play and have fun. Snarf was harmless and all he did was run along with the kits and sleep on Tygra's lap. They never had mentioned anything about leaving the village, so Tygra was starting to trust them, but not enough to chat openly with them. He played mostly in silence, save for a few laughs now and then, and answered in monosyllables or head movements.

It was starting to frustrate Lion-O.

The lion had taken to look from a distance as Tygra played with the kittens. It had been three days, and he wanted badly to talk with his brother, and see how much he remembered. But every time he approached the cub, Tygra looked distrustfully at him and ran towards Tana. Lion-O was at his wits' end. He needed to find a way for Tygra to talk to him, or just let him come near by. Cheetara told him that he needed to be patient, but it was hard to be patient when they were running out of time. They needed to move. Mum-Ra would also been looking for the stones and any other means that could give him more power. They had to get ahead of the mummy or they would be doomed.

He needed his brother by his side. He needed Tygra to return to normal. He didn't believe that there was nothing that could be done. Someone had to have a solution! But he had to take his brother out of the village in order to go find it, because the wolves were not willing to help him with that particular task. Unfortunately, it was clear that Tygra was not going anywhere away from Tana. He seemed glued to the female wolf's side, and not even Yero could make him leave her for long periods of time. Lion-O didn't trust the wolves, but apparently Tygra did, and was not willing to leave them.

The young king didn't know what to do. He was very tempted to just grab his brother and leave the village without explanation. The only thing stopping him was the scared look Tygra sent him every time he got close enough to the little tiger. His brother was afraid of him, and Lion-O had not a clue why.

Lion-O asked Panthro if he had any idea of what had happened when Tygra had been taken to Thundera, but the general said that he had been on the field at the time. When he had returned to the palace, Tygra had already been there for about four months. He remembered though that Tygra had been a very quiet cub. The queen had been the only one to get him to talk in full sentences.

Cheetara had the theory that Tygra may not remember anything about the city or the royal family. He was around three, which meant that he certainly couldn't have met Lion-O yet. His memories may be settled before Claudus had adopted him, and that would mean that he wouldn't know if the "new cats" were friendly. Tana had told them that Tygra's family had been highly intolerant towards any cat without stripes, and the cub had been growing up with his relatives teaching him to never get close to such cats. Lion-O had gritted his teeth when he had heard that. It was no wonder that Tygra barely looked their way.

Fortunately, Kit and Kat were making progress. Tygra seemed to be at ease with them, but he continued to check on Tana's whereabouts once in a while when he was playing. Tana was also helping, encouraging Tygra to spend time with the kits and talking to Cheetara and Lion-O freely in front of him. Yero however frowned at his mate's efforts, and it wasn't lost to Lion-O the way Tygra listened attentively to whatever the alpha wolf had to say. Kraus was also a constant presence in the background, and it gave Lion-O the creeps. He couldn't take out of his head that Tygra ending as a three years old cub had not been an accident, but he couldn't think of any reason why the healer wolf would want to do that to his brother. It was just crazy, but still the idea refused to go away.

While Lion-O worried about his brother, and how to get him out of the village, Yero was thinking the best way to prevent the Thunderians from taking the cub away. He was not going to allow the same thing to happen again. Tygra was going to stay where he was supposed to, and no Lord of the Thundercats was going to interfere.

* * *

.

It was on the fourth day that Yero was with Zama and Theus, trying to get ideas. Both animals had been watching the cats and knew that the recently proclaimed Lord of the Thundercats was not going to let go of the tiger. He was his brother after all. Yero scoffed at the notion. He was too immersed in comparing Lion-O to Claudus to see that the young lion was a very different king. He wanted the cats out of the way. He didn't particularly care about what they'd do with their lives as long as they were out of his village and away from Tygra. Zama and Theus had the feeling that the last part was not going to happen, but trying to make Yero see that simple fact was proving to be harder than expected.

Yero was growling at his companion's uncooperativeness when Tana joined them. The first thing the alpha noticed was the absence of a cub at her side. He immediately was asking what had happened, imagining all kinds of violent and bloody scenarios. Zama actually hid a grin while Theus rolled his eyes, and Tana sighed, dropping her head in mock despair at her mate.

"Would you calm down Yero? Nothing happened. Tygra is playing with the kittens at the outskirts of the forest. I left him with them about an hour ago. I have been preparing lunch with Cheetara and she just left. Tygra has not come running to me, which means that he's actually distracted enough to not notice my absence. And before you say anything, I think it's good that he stops looking around for me every five minutes. He can't be stuck at my side permanently!"

"But Tana! Do you realize what's at stake here? The cats want to take him away with them, and we can't let that happen!"

"Yero, I don't really think they'd want to take a cub on a dangerous quest like the one they are taking."

"Of course they will! These are cats Tana! They think they're above every other species, and would rather take their chances with a cub in a battlefield than leave him in safety with any other animal!"

"Yero, you're being unreasonable!"

"Have you forgotten Claudus? The mighty Lord of the Thundercats that knows what's best for his own people?"

"He's dead Yero. These cats are sticking around. They know they have no place to go, and I think they are really considering what'd be best for Tygra."

"Don't be so naïve! They are waiting for the chance to sneak out of here with Tygra. An opportunity that you have just given them Tana!"

The female wolf was about to protest, but Zama's voice interrupted the squabble.

"Well, why don't you let them?"

Both wolves turned to him. Yero started growling.

"Are you out of your mind? Tygra's place is here! He needs to be trained! Besides, I'm not about to let the cats take him into a suicidal war against Mum-Ra!"

"Yero, they are not going to do such thing!" Said Tana scandalized.

"Where do you think they're heading to? The entire purpose of their quest for looking the stones of power is to beat that cursed mummy!"

"Alpha Yero, perhaps we need to calm down." Said the crow. "We know that the tiger should be left here, where he'd be safe and trained to take on his responsibility. But we can't force the cats to simply leave him and continue on their way. Like it or not, they're his family now. You honestly don't believe that they'd leave their cub behind in an unknown village, with animals that are perfect strangers to them."

"For Tygra they are the strangers! For all he knows he's an orphan now, he doesn't remember them!"

"But they do. Besides, what makes you think that he won't remember when he gets older and the magic of the stone opens his mind?"

Yero growled in frustration. He knew that Tygra would eventually remember his entire life. Kraus had explained to him that the memories would likely come back the moment the tiger bonded with the stone. By then, he would have control over the magic and would be able to resist the onslaught without his mind being shattered by it. Yero didn't look forward to the moment the tiger would demand explanations for the wolves' actions, but he was confident that Tygra would understand the necessity of them.

Theus continued talking, now that he had the wolf quieter.

"The cats don't like the rest of the species, and really, we don't like them either. That's a fact we all had grown up with. Given that fact, you can't possibly expect they'd be willing to entrust us with one of their cubs. Specially one that they see as a member of their royal family. Besides, we have to accept that they actually have no reason to trust the wolves."

"They'd have to." Insisted Yero. "They'd have no other choice."

"We know that. But it's them the ones that have to be convinced of it."

The crow looked apologetically at Yero's mate, and continued.

"I'm sorry Tana, but I think they will try to take Tygra away. They really are not thinking about the danger they'd be facing. They are more concerned with finding a way to fix the problem. The lion is still thinking about an adult Tygra, and is not really considering that a three year old doesn't have the skills and abilities of a grownup who can protect himself."

"Which is why we should get them away from the cub!" Yero insisted. "There is no way for Tygra to return to his proper age, apart from naturally growing up again! It's a fact!"

"Yes, but they are the ones who need to accept that, and they are not going to do it if they're not allowed to try. That's why I agree with Zama. Let them go with the cub. They're not going to find a cure, and soon they'd realize how impractical it is to have a little cub tagging along when you have no den, or any place you can call home, and you're trying to fight a dreadful monster."

Yero shook his head in negation. He couldn't believe they were actually suggesting letting Tygra go with the cats.

"You two have lost your minds. Tygra can't go with them! He'd get injured, or worse! There are many dangers in Third Earth, and the vast majority are in fact not caused by Mum-Ra. What if the lizards' army attacks them? What if something else attacks them?"

"In fact, it will be very convenient if that happens." Said the chameleon. Yero growled and Tana let out a distressed sound.

"Zama, how can you…?"

"Oh, please! It's not as if you, or even us, can't follow them! The old cat cleric is dead, and the curse he put on us, to prevent us from looking for the tiger, was broken the moment the new Lord of the Thundercats knocked at your door, asking for assistance. We can follow their every move, and make sure that no harm befalls the cub. They only need a little scare to realize how dangerous their mission is, and they'd be begging you to keep him safe until they have a proper home."

Tana looked anxious, and Yero was about to protest that he'd rather not let Tygra out of his sight, when Kraus' voice interrupted them.

"An interesting theory, and I'm afraid that we'd have to try it."

The four animals turned at the door to look at the healer. Yero paled visibly.

"They are gone, aren't they?"

Kraus sighed and nodded.

"Just now. The lion insists that he's going to find the way to get Tygra back to normal. They're heading north."

"We can still stop them…!"

"No, Yero." The old wolf put a hand over the alpha's arm, to stop him from dashing out and call the warriors. The alpha frowned. "Theus and Zama are right. They need to see for themselves. To be convinced that there's nothing they can do. To be willing to let go of the cub. They are his family Yero, and they care for him. Once they'd realize the danger, they'd do the right thing."

"Are you sure of that?"

"They're not Claudus and Jaga, and the situation is very different. We just have to make sure to not lose them."

Zama and Theus were out of the window immediately, to track the machine that the Thunderians used. They'd be watching, and waiting for the right time. They'd only intervene if necessary.

* * *

.

Tygra was feeling very tired. He had been playing tag with the thunderkittens close to the walls of the village. He had not thought about Tana's whereabouts in a while, he had been engrossed in the game. Now they had proposed to play hide and seek, and he was trying to find a suitable hiding place that wasn't too far from the walls. Kraus had told him to never enter the forest alone, so he was avoiding walking in that direction.

However, he was starting to feel apprehensive. His ears twitched and stood in attention. He could hear faint noises, like whispers, that came from somewhere around him. Someone was watching him.

Tygra stopped and looked fearfully towards the line of trees that signalled the border of the forest. The trees and bushes were more there, making the vegetation look dense from that point on. The canopy of foliage let very little light through, so Tygra couldn't really see beyond the initial line of trees. He knew there was a path somewhere, which led to his own town. His own, burned-out, town.

The cub continued walking, but the whispers didn't stop, and he found himself looking towards the forest again instead of paying attention in front of him. He collided with a hard surface and fell on his butt. Mewling in surprise and pain, he looked up to the big machine that had stopped him. It was the tank. Kit and Kat had showed it to him earlier in the day, talking excitedly about how cool it was to ride it. At the moment, the top was closed but one small door on the side was not, and Tygra peeked inside curiously. It was very plain inside; just metal everywhere, with some crevices and rectangular shapes, like boxes, and there were some seats that didn't look very comfortable. In one of the corners, between two such boxes was a pile of fabric, where snarf was sleeping peacefully.

Tygra considered turning around and return to the village, but the feeling of being watched intensified, and he looked behind him to the forest again.

There was an eerie mist forming around the trees and bushes. It was translucent and looked to be moving. The whispers were louder, and Tygra could actually understand some words.

… _chosen one… shouldn't have left… shouldn't…_

… _back… is back…_

… _no control… should have…_

… _kill you…_

Tygra crawled inside the tank and moved at the side of the open door, so he could no longer see the forest. The whispers stopped, and he felt a soft body rub against his legs.

He yelped in fear and almost fell again. Snarf mewed at him and continued rubbing himself against him. Tygra sighed in relief and pet the furry creature, which immediately dashed towards the pile of blankets and mewed again, evidently inviting the cub to share the self-made bed. Tygra looked at the door and thought about going with Kraus and tell him that he was hearing the voices again, but he was afraid. What if the mist was still outside? Maybe he should wait a bit. If Kit and Kat found him, they could take him to the house and he'd ask Tana to look for Kraus.

Snarf mewed once more, and Tygra decided to sit with him and rest. He gingerly walked towards the nest of blankets and sat comfortably among them. Then he decided that he'd be cosier laying down and soon he was cuddling with Snarf, using the pet as protection from whatever was outside the tank.

His eyes were firmly looking towards the door, but after a few minutes he felt the tiredness again and yawned. He was cosy and warm, and there was no strange feeling of anyone watching him anymore. The cub finally relaxed and fell asleep.

* * *

.

Lion-O was discussing with Panthro while they walked through the gates of the village, and towards the tank. He was excited because the sword had finally shown him something. He had asked a simple question: How could he help his brother? And the sword had answered showing him the stones of power. He knew they had to go, and he supposed that once he had the four stones he could use the book and Jaga would tell him what he had to do with them to get Tygra back to normal.

Panthro was sceptical. He didn't put a lot of trust in magic, and he thought that it was better to let magic to the ones that could actually understand it. At the present moment, those persons were the wolf healer and Cheetara. Both of them had agreed that it would be really dangerous to try to return Tygra to his rightful age, and both had even emphasized that it would do more harm than good. Lion-O however was not ready to accept that, and was insisting on following the sword's advice. He was not giving up, and Panthro knew that there was nothing they could do to convince the young king to listen to the healer.

"Ok. Say that we get the stones relatively quickly. What if it doesn't work? What if we end up hurting Tygra?"

"It's going to work Panthro! I'll use the book of omens and Jaga will tell me what to do. We have Cheetara to help! We only need to hurry up and get the stones as soon as we can."

"Fine. What do we do with Tygra while we are hunting for the stones?" It was practically a rhetorical question. Panthro knew what Lion-O was going to answer, but he still hoped that the lion would see reason and accepted to leave Tygra in the village, where at least they'd be sure that he'd be well taken care of. But Lion-O looked at him with determination.

"What kind of question is that? We'll take him with us!"

"Lion-O…"

"I'm not leaving my brother behind Panthro!" Said the king between clenched teeth, and the general sighed.

"Fine. We should tell the others. And the wolves aren't going to be happy."

"I could care less. Tygra is my only family. I have been letting them to take care of him because he doesn't recognize us, but they can't keep him from me. I'd talk to the alpha after lunch while you and the others prepare everything. If they truly care for Tygra, they'd agree to let me try to return him to normal."

"Ok. Technically everything is ready. We could go at any time." Said Panthro with a sigh. Lion-O didn't notice his sarcastic humour.

"Good. Maybe I should go talk with Yero now. Do you know where the others are?"

Panthro shrugged and was about to say that he had no idea, when they reached the tank. The Thunderkittens came out of it, both making signs of silence to the two grown up cats. Lion-O looked amused at them.

"What's with you two?"

"Shush. Tygra is asleep with Snarf. We were running all morning and he's exhausted. If you talk too loud you'd wake him up." Said Kit.

Lion-O's eyes widened and hurriedly looked inside the tank. His brother was tucked in a pile of blankets in a corner, cuddling with Snarf. Lion-O smiled at the picture. He could go and tell Yero that they were leaving… or they could just leave.

He'd deal with Tygra when he'd wake up, but now that the tiger had finally left the wolves' side it was too good an opportunity to lose. Lion-O made his decision quickly and looked towards Panthro.

"Find Cheetara. We're leaving now!"

* * *

.

Kraus looked from his vantage point over the wall as Lion-O discussed with a distressed Cheetara. It was evident that the female thought that taking Tygra with them was not a good idea. Kraus agreed with her. But it was also evident that the lion was not going to be convinced.

Kraus debated with himself if he should go down there and pick up Tygra. The Lord of the Thundercats was unlikely to react well to the disappearance of his brother. The wolf didn't want to let the tiger cub in the lion's hands, it felt too much like what had happened with Claudus was repeating itself.

Only, Lion-O was not Claudus. The deceased King of Thundera had taken Tygra when he had had no right to do so. Lion-O on the other hand, had grown up with the tiger. For the lion, Tygra was his brother, his family. Like it or not, the young lion had every right to take the cub with him. Tygra wasn't aware of that fact at the moment, but he'll remember as soon as he had the right age. It'd not do to alienate the cats when they had the opportunity to correct the damage that had been done.

Kraus looked towards the forest. He could feel the energy that was slowly accumulating. It was very dark, and was flowing from the sword buried deep in the entrails of the earth. It was already infecting the forest's spirits, and Kraus was sure that it was somehow feeding its master's powers. In a couple of years, the stone would cease to be able to restrain it.

He watched as the lion finally got the female cheetah into the tank and the machine started its way. They were not going into the forest, but rather all along the edge, towards the open fields of Hinai. They were going to pass a few good miles away from the Elephants' mountain.

Kraus shook his head. Those fields were very dangerous. Hell, everywhere in Third Earth was dangerous! It'd be a miracle if they'd actually get to the night without having some incident.

He was worried about Tygra. The cub had used to have nightmares when her mother had died. Tana said that he had been sleeping quietly, and had not reported to hear voices yet, but they should stay alert. Tygra had been unnaturally silent. He might not be telling them if he had any bad dreams or other problems.

Kraus sighed and got down of the wall. He had to inform Yero of the cats' departure. They needed to keep track of Tygra, and be ready for when the cats needed help, because he didn't have a doubt that they'll need it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the series of Thundercats, this belong to Cartoon Network, I think, there's no profit being made from this piece of fanfiction.

**Chapter 05. Cubs are not for battlefield.**

Tygra woke with a start and tried to remain quiet while he assessed his surroundings. He didn't remember what he had been dreaming, but he had a feeling of anxiousness that wouldn't go away. It had been the same every day since he had returned to the village.

He hadn't told anyone about it. The time he had spent at the castle had made him realize that his bad dreams upset the lady that was charged with his care. He had heard her say that it was no wonder that no one but Claudus had wanted to take care of him. No one in their right mind would want to deal with an orphan with such problems. The little tiger had promised himself that he'd cease to be a bother, so Tana and Yero wouldn't be upset with him. He had forced himself to wake up without noise, so no one would have to be troubled with his dreams. Besides, it would be a waste of time for Tana to comfort him, when he couldn't even remember what he had dreamt about.

Tygra sighed deeply, trying to calm himself, and was startled when a wet tongue lapped at his nose. He blinked at Snarf, wondering for a second what the pet was doing in his bed. Then he noticed that the bed was a bit harder than he was used to, and that it was in fact vibrating. The noise of rumbling finally registered and Tygra sat up, more than a bit scared. He looked at the metallic structure all around him, and remembered. He was inside the tank.

The cub could see Cheetara and the kits. They were peeking at the front of the tank into what Kat had told him was the driver's cabin. No one was paying attention to him.

Tygra tried to stand. He had to get out of the thing. He had to go back to Tana.

A sudden bump made Tygra lose his balance and he yelped as he fell, almost on top of Snarf. The small noise made Kit turn around and she smiled happily at the cub. She was at his side in an instant.

"Hey! Look who is awake!"

Kit and Kat helped him to stand and step away from the blankets. Cheetara was quickly kneeling in front of him, looking at him with worry.

"Tygra. Did you sleep well? Are you ok dear?"

No, he was not ok. He wanted Tana, now. He pointed in the general direction of the door he had used to get inside the tank. Cheetara turned and looked confused, but Kit caught on.

"Oh, the trap door. Do you want to go outside?"

Tygra nodded, and bit his lip anxiously.

"Tana." He said. Cheetara closed her eyes and sighed.

"You want to go with Tana. Tygra, we…"

She didn't know what to say. Tygra wasn't going to believe that he was supposed to be with them and not with the wolves. How do you explain to a three years old cub that he's not supposed to have that age? That he didn't remember his own family? She hugged the little tiger, who stiffened a bit.

"I'm sorry dear. We're not in the village anymore. You see, we had to leave. There's something very important we have to do, and we couldn't leave you behind. I-I'm sure Yero and Tana understand…"

Tygra pushed himself away from Cheetara, and the female cleric looked as the big brown eyes filled with tears. She tried to gently grab the tiger's shoulder and caress his cheek, but he shied away from her, giving a few steps backwards until he was stepping on the blankets between the boxes again.

"Oh Tygra, please understand…"

The cub sobbed as tears started to run down his face. This couldn't be happening. He had been on his best behaviour. They weren't supposed to leave him with the cats again! Kraus had gone to pick him up to the castle, hadn't he? Why? What had he done wrong?

He sat down heavily and bent his knees; his arms crossed over them and buried his head. He cried freely, not acknowledging the presence of the two Thunderkittens at his side. Not even feeling their hands caressing his head and back, or listening to their words. He stayed like that for a long time until he fell into a light slumber.

* * *

.

"Come on Tygra! Aren't you hungry?"

Asked Kit, more than a bit worried. Tygra was awake, but he was not moving, and was stubbornly not looking at them. Not even at Snarf, who was rubbing himself on the cub's side, trying to get his attention.

They had stopped to set up camp close to a small lake. They were several miles away from the forest already, but the place they had chosen was surrounded by a group of trees that grew up in the vicinity of the lake. It was nice and they had found enough wood to start a fire. It was evening already, and they needed to rest.

Wilykit and Wilykat had been trying for several minutes already to make Tygra leave his nest of blankets and go with them. He needed to eat. He had spent the entire travel in his corner, ignoring them. Both kits were sad to see how depressed the cub was, and a bit angry at Lion-O for simply took him out of the village without even saying goodbye to the wolves. Now they didn't know what to do to make Tygra happy again.

"Kits, go with Cheetara. She needs a bit of help." The lion called, while he entered the tank. Both kittens turned to look at him.

"But Lion-O, Tygra doesn't want to come."

"He's not talking to us. He's going to make himself sick."

Lion-O sighed. He had already tried to speak with Tygra, to explain to him why they had had to leave so suddenly. But it seemed like the tiger had not listened to him. The cub had remained un-responding to their attempts to comfort him. He just sat in the corner, curled into himself, and not making a sound.

"Just go with Cheetara. I'd be there soon with Tygra."

The Thunderkittens gave him an incredulous look, but they got out of the tank after giving Tygra a last pat on the head. Snarf stayed at the cub's side. Lion-O knelt, trying to be as close to his brother as possible.

"Tygra? Don't you want to eat? Cheetara is cooking some of the meat we brought from the village."

He put his hand on the tiger's back, but the cub didn't react. Not even flinched at the touch. Lion-O sighed.

"Tygra, please. Don't be stubborn now. I'm sorry we had to leave like that, but they wouldn't have…"

He interrupted himself and caressed his brother's little head. He wasn't used to this. He had never had to deal with a cub. He certainly had never had to look out for Tygra, or take full responsibility for him. It was usually the other way around. Lion-O had never truly realized how much he depended on his brother. He needed to feel that certain amount of security that came from the knowledge that there was someone supporting him. That someone was always going to back him up. Tygra had been a constant in his life since he remembered. No matter how much they fought, or the ugly shade of resentment that appeared between them from time to time. Tygra had always been there for him. Even if he didn't agree with Lion-O in more than a few occasions, he still was with him.

"Tygra, please understand. I couldn't leave you with them. I need you with me brother. Please."

He didn't know what else to do. He wished that Tygra would talk to him. He wanted him to start behaving more like the boisterous brother he knew. He was used to deal with that.

"I promise that I'd fix this Tygra. I'd get you back somehow."

He considered the little form, and decided that he best let him have some space. That always worked when Tygra was upset.

"I'm going to bring you something to eat. I'd be back in a minute."

He got up and took Snarf with him. He figured that Tygra wanted to be alone for some moments. His brother used to disappear for a couple of minutes when he was utterly frustrated with him. He just needed a bit of time to sort himself out.

Once the lion went away, Tygra sighed and rubbed his eyes. He felt them puffy and he was sure his face was all dirty. He had just barely been listening to everything the cats had been telling him, and understanding even less. One thing though had gotten his attention. It looked like they had left without telling anyone. That meant that Tana and Yero had not left him in the cats' care, they may not know he was with them. Maybe they were looking for him.

His stomach growled and he bit his lip. He was hungry and thirsty, but he didn't want anything from the cats. However, he understood that he had to eat something. Besides, his body was just starting to remind him that he had other biological needs too.

Tygra looked up and around him. He was alone. The top of the tank was open, but there wasn't any other way to get out on sight. He stood up and started to explore. The trap door was closed, and he didn't know how to open it. There had to be another exit. His limbs were stiff from being curled up the entire day, but he managed with some difficulty to walk almost normally.

There was something brilliant at the front of the tank. Tygra noticed that the front cabin was also open, and he wandered towards it, thinking that it could be easier to get out from there.

He peeked at the cocks pit and widened his eyes in surprise. There was a book in the front panel. There was this creepy light surrounding it, and the jewel in the middle was misty.

Tygra reached with his hand to touch it. Suddenly, an eerie blue mist went out of the jewel. It condensed quite quickly in front of the cub, who looked in terror as it formed a distorted face with luminescent eyes.

"Tygra?"

The hollow voice that came out of the apparition's mouth sent shivers down his spine. Tygra screamed.

Lion-O was in the process of preparing a plate of food for his brother, when he heard the high-pitched scream from the tank. He was immediately up, and charging at the vehicle with the sword ready, the rest of the Thundercats close by him.

Snarf bolted inside before the lot of them. When Lion-O landed in the middle of the tank he saw his pet all freaked out, hissing, and confused as to where was the threat. Tygra was still screaming. Lion-O ran to the little cub, who had crammed himself inside a tight crevice of the tank, and now looked stuck. The lion had no idea how his brother had managed to fit there.

"Go 'way! Go 'way!"

"Tygra! Tygra calm down!"

"What happened?" Asked Cheetara. She and Panthro had quickly looked over the entire tank and had found nothing out of the ordinary.

"I'm not sure. Tygra is pretty much scared. I don't think I can get him out of there."

Cheetara looked at the distressed cub and the place he was in. What in the world could have scared him that much?

"Let me try. You'd hurt him if you just pull him out."

Lion-O let Cheetara step in, and looked worriedly while she tried to coax Tygra out of his hiding place. She managed to get a hold of him, and pull him into her arms without hurting him. The tiger got a dead grab on her clothes, and she could smell and feel that he was wet. She carried him out making soft noises and rubbing his back to comfort him.

"There, there Tygra. There's nothing to fear. We're here sweetheart. You have nothing to be scared about."

Tygra continued sobbing uncontrollably, but he didn't fight when Cheetara took him to the lake to clean him.

* * *

.

It took a while for Tygra to calm down. Cheetara managed to get him to eat a candy fruit, and drink some water before he fell asleep. She tucked him inside one of the sleeping bags they were using, and sat at his side. He looked so small and fragile. The cheetah wondered what exactly had scared him.

Lion-O had helped washing Tygra's pants, after they had painfully realized that they had no clothes for the cub. They were hanging close to the fire to dry.

The lion came over and sat down at the other side of Tygra, while Snarf made himself comfortable at the cub's feet. Lion-O extended a hand and started to groom Tygra's mane with his fingers. Cheetara smiled sadly.

"It was a rough day, wasn't it?" Asked Lion-O. Cheetara nodded.

"More than it should." Then she added after a pause. "I miss him Lion-O. I miss his presence, his security, his flirting behaviour. How could this have happened?"

"We'll have him back Cheetara." He said with certainty. "Once we have the stones, we'll get him back to normal."

"Lion-O, I don't really think that's possible…"

"It is! The sword of Omens wouldn't lie. I-I…"

Cheetara put her hand over his. She knew that much of the king's stubbornness came from fear that he might have lost his brother forever.

"It's fine Lion-O. We'd get through this. And I'm sure that Tygra will warm up to you. You only have to give him more time."

The lion sighed and continued grooming his brother's head. A small purring noise came from the cub, who was evidently enjoying the attention in his sleep.

"I guess I'm like evil incarnated for him at this moment. At least he's already allowing you to hug him."

"He was scared. He'd have let anyone of us hug him."

Lion-O did an incredulous huff, and Cheetara rolled her eyes. She then stood up and stretched her limbs.

"I'm going for the rest of the sleeping bags. I think it's better if we both sleep close to him."

"Sure."

She walked away and Lion-O muttered under his breath.

"He'd let anyone hug him. Yeah, sure." He sighed in tiredness and looked down to the peaceful, sleeping, tiger. "Figures that you'd go with her rather than me, eh Tygra?"

Of course, the cub didn't answer him, but Lion-O preferred to cheat himself into believing that Tygra was annoying him on purpose. He sighed again and leaned down to kiss his brother's forehead.

"I'll get you back Tygra. I promise. I'm not going to let you down too."

* * *

.

Tygra looked distrustfully at the tank while the Thundercats lifted camp.

He had woken up tucked between Cheetara and Lion-O, and had felt extremely weird. It might have been stubbornness, but he had the impression that he never would have let the lion cuddle like that with him. It just was… well, weird. He wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling.

They had had something resembling breakfast, and the cheetah had coaxed him to eat a few bites, but it had not been much. Now they were preparing to leave, Tygra had no idea where to, but he was pretty sure it'd be to the palace.

He frowned in concentration. He didn't remember how long it had been with Claudus the first time Tygra had been taken to Thundera. He also didn't remember much of such trip.

A long shadow suddenly fell on him, and the cub lifted his eyes startled. The towering figure of Panthro smiled at him.

"Hey lad, do you want to wait for us at the driver's seat?"

Tygra shook his head vehemently. He didn't want to be anywhere close to that freaky book. Panthro scratched his head.

"Well, then maybe you'd want to sit inside with Snarf? That way you'd be ready when we have finished."

What Panthro wanted was to prevent Tygra from wandering away. The lake was too close, and he didn't want any accidents. Tygra looked at Snarf, considering his options. He finally decided that it didn't matter where he waited. He didn't want to be with the lot of them anyway.

He shrugged his little shoulders, and Panthro chose to take that as an affirmation. He picked the little tiger up and walked with him to the tank. Tygra was positively awed at how far he was from the ground and held tight to Panthro, even mewling in some distress when the panther jumped on the tank. The general chuckled.

"Don't worry lad. I'm not dropping you."

He deposited Tygra on one of the seats and ruffled the fur on his head. Tygra flinched and glared at him in complain. Panthro chuckled at his expression.

"Now be a good tiger and wait for us. It'd be only a couple of minutes." He was gone in an instant.

Snarf jumped and curled at the cub's side. Tygra started to pet him while narrowing his eyes at the front of the tank. There was nothing unusual on sight. Tygra sighed and tried to ignore it. He didn't mind to be inside the tank as long as Snarf was there with him. He had found out early in his life that he didn't hear any voices or saw strange things when someone was with him. Which was pretty unfair in his opinion. No one in the castle had believed him when he had told then what he had seen in the halls. They had told him that he had been imagining things.

Tygra sniffled quietly. Kraus believed him. He had told Tygra that he could hear some things that others couldn't, and had promised to teach him how to control his gift. He wanted to go home.

Snarf seemed to perceive his sadness and licked his face. Tygra giggled and pushed the pet away.

Suddenly his ears twitched, and a sense of dread invaded him. Snarf tensed too and both of them sniffed the air in apprehension. There was a strange sound and the tank began to shake. Tygra looked around, wondering what was happening. He didn't have time to think much about it. There was a terrible noise, and Tygra looked upwards to see what looked like a big wall of white flesh rising into the sky. The cub grabbed Snarf and screamed as the tank was hit. The next thing he knew, he was flying.

* * *

.

Lion-O and the rest of the Thundercats had put out the fire, and packed everything. Panthro and the kits had gone to the lake for some water. Once they'd return, they'd be ready to go.

Suddenly, Lion-O heard a rumbling noise. He turned around, but there was nothing apart from the scarce trees that surrounded the lake, and the meadow. Cheetara was soon at his side, her ears standing up in alertness. The earth began to shake and Lion-O turned towards the tank, ready to run and protect his brother, but the ground in front of him suddenly exploded with force. Both cats looked in terror as a huge creature resurfaced from underground. It was a white worm, but it was monstrous. It could have easily towered over Thundera's palace.

The creature shook free of the ground, and the cats clearly heard the noise of something big crashing heavily somewhere behind the worm. They panicked, and took out their weapons, charging towards the worm in an attempt to get past it. The thing however decided to attack, and lashed at them with its tail, following in surprisingly quick succession with its mouth. They could see three lines full of sharp teeth in it.

Panthro and the kittens arrived and joined the battle, almost at the same time that a second worm revealed itself. Lion-O attacked with the sword, desperate to reach the tank and his brother, but his blasts of energy didn't seem to be making a dent in the beast's skin. Panthro and Cheetara weren't having much more luck. The Lord of the Thundercats didn't give up. He tried to get on top of the creature, in the hopes to find a weak point. They had to stop the worms that clearly wanted to eat them.

* * *

.

Zama looked at the cats getting ready to continue their trip. He was taking every precaution needed for the felines to not pick out his smell. The spray that the crows had developed had been really useful. So long he remained undiscovered. He looked into the distance across the plains. Soon he'll ran out of trees, and it'd be up to Thera to follow the cats into the bare roads around the mountains. Zama disliked the dryness of the forlorn mountains.

Something in the meadow called his attention, a slight movement, only visible to him because he was in a high tree. Zama focused and soon cursed as he distinguished the telltale signs of two albino worms, tunnelling their way towards the cats, surely looking for water and food.

He camouflaged, turning himself practically invisible and hurried to the tank. He needed to pull the cub out of the way before he was hurt. He arrived just as the worm hit the tank, sending it flying a good ten metres away. Tygra got propelled out of the vehicle, and Zama caught him in midair. He quickly ran as far away from the worms as he could without loosing sight of the fighting cats, and took the cub to the relative security of a tall tree.

He put the cub on a branch, high enough for the Thundercats to see him from afar. The worms were busy enough with the cats; it was improbable that they noticed the faint smell of the cub. However, he'd remain close by in case more help was required. He took a moment to confirm that Tygra had no wounds, while the little tiger processed what had happened. Snarf jumped from the cub's arms to the tree branch and hissed in fear, all of his fur stood on end.

Once Zama was sure that the cub was unharmed, he returned to the trunk, ready to disappear again.

"Wait here for the cats kiddo. They'd finish soon. Do not try to get down by yourself."

He climbed up, just about to camouflage with the leaves, but Tygra stood on the branch and tried to reach him.

"'ait!"

The cub braced the trunk and looked upwards. The branch where he was standing was wide enough to not even move with his light weight, and provided solid support. The small tiger had recognized Zama's smell. It had been strong in the house, just around the room where Yero discussed with important guests. He had seen chameleons before in his own village. His father had explained that they were the only species of reptiles that traded with the tigers, and that they had their own town somewhere in the forest. Tygra knew that this chameleon could take him to the wolves. He couldn't let it go.

"'ait! 'ease! Wanna go wi' Tana!"

Zama turned around, still attached to the tree trunk. He was facing the cub upside –down. The little tiger looked ready to try and climb the trunk. The reptile sighed.

"Look, I can't take you now kiddo. You must stay with the cats a bit longer."

"No!" Tygra shook his head, and tears started to mist his eyes. "Mama sa' to s'ay wi' Tana! Don' wanna s'ay wi' 'em!"

Zama sighed again. He got closer to the cub and tried to explain. He didn't think that anyone had even tried to explain to Tygra what was happening. The cub must be pretty confused.

"Listen kid, it's not that easy. See that cat over there? The lion?"

Lion-O was over one of the worms, trying to cut it to pieces without much success. It looked like a lot of work for a creature what could be driven away easily with fire. Tygra looked at the battle for a second and returned to look up at Zama. The chameleon continued.

"You see, that cat believes that you're his brother."

Tygra's eyes widened in surprise, and he turned his head to see the lion again. He had heard Lion-O calling him brother, but had not really made the connection.

"Bu' I'm not! I a tiger!" He said, and looked at Zama again. The chameleon chuckled.

"That has little importance for him. Tana and Yero are like your family, aren't they?"

The tiger nodded vehemently.

"And still, they are wolves, not tigers like you. See?"

Tygra frowned. He looked again at the cats that apparently had successfully beaten one of the worms and were in the process of getting rid of the second.

"Bu' I 'now Tana an' Yero. Don' 'now 'im."

"Ah, well. That's because you had a… little accident."

Tygra looked at Zama again, confusion written plainly in his face.

"A'iden?"

"Yes. You were, mmh, pretty bad in fact. That's why the cats had to take you with the wolves again. You can't remember now, but they were pretty much worried about you."

Zama didn't saw harm in changing the facts a little bit. After all, he wasn't about to tell Tygra that he should be an adult now. That would require a lot of explanations, unnecessary at the moment. Tygra bit his lip, still not convinced.

"Bu'… Moma sa' to be wi' Tana."

"We know kiddo. Look, it's just for a little while. A couple of days at most. The cats only want to spend more time with you. They need to be sure that you're gonna be fine, and that you won't forget about them. Yero and Tana are going to come for you, but you must wait for them with the cats, ok?"

"'hey will?" Said Tygra hopefully. Zama nodded.

"They will kiddo. Just try to be patient. The cats don't want to hurt you. They only need to convince themselves that you're going to be safe with the wolves. I have to go now. Be good."

Tygra nodded and looked in wonder as the chameleon disappeared among the leaves. Almost immediately, he heard the frantic calls of the cats. He looked down to see the panicked felines going around the tank. The vehicle was resting on its side, and the cats were looking inside and around it, yelling Tygra's name. There was no sight of the worms.

The tiger looked at the ground and gasped. He was miles up the tree! How was he supposed to get down? Not even Panthro would be able to reach him!

Tygra considered his options. He could climb down the tree trunk as he had seen Zama doing. It had looked pretty easy. But Zama had told him to wait in the branch for the cats. Snarf solved his dilemma mewling loudly to get the Thundercats' attention. Soon the felines realized where the sound was coming from and hurried at the tree. Lion-O looked up at his brother and Snarf, and started to climb the trunk.

"Don't move Tygra! I'm coming for you!"

"How in Thundera's name did they end up there?" Said Panthro, looking up at the tiny figure of the tiger. The branch where the cub was standing was about 30 feet up, and the tree was a good fifty meters away from the tank. The general looked at Cheetara in concern, but the female just shrugged. For all they knew, Tygra and Snarf could have managed to climb the tree in panic. If someone had helped them, surely that person would have hung around.

Both cats looked as their king reached the branch. Snarf immediately jumped to get a hold of the lion's shoulder, while Tygra looked still distrustfully at the young king. Lion-O extended his arm for the cub and smiled.

"Come on Tygra. Grab me tightly and I'd get you down."

Tygra looked into Lion-O's eyes, and for the first time really tried to remember having seen them before. A slight feeling of annoyance at himself for needing help surprised him. He didn't know how to react. Lion-O's smile faltered a little at the cub's hesitation, but he insisted.

"Tygra, please. I swear to you, everything's going to be fine. I'm going to fix it brother. Just come with me."

Tygra looked down again and back to Lion-O. He still wasn't so sure about the cat's motives, but the chameleon had said that it'd only be for a little time. He pressed his lips and reached out to the lion. He manoeuvred a bit, until he held tightly to Lion-O's shoulder and neck, and let the lord of the Thundercats carry him safely to the ground.

* * *

It took a moment for Panthro and Lion-O to put the tank on its wheels again, while Cheetara checked up Tygra for injuries. She asked him how he had managed to climb the tree, but Tygra just shrugged. He didn't mention the chameleon. He had the distinct impression that the reptile wouldn't have wanted the cats to know he had been there. Fortunately Cheetara didn't press the issue, and they waited for Panthro to make sure that the tank was functioning adequately. Soon, they hit the road again, and Lion-O took his chance to try once more to talk with his brother, now that the cub seemed to be more receptive to him.

Cheetara installed herself in the cockpit with Panthro, and the kits distracted themselves with Snarf to give the brothers some semblance of privacy. Lion-O sat with Tygra on his lap and prayed that the cub would actually talk to him. He encouraged himself by the fact that Tygra had let him hold him, and that he wasn't tensing or running away anymore. Tygra looked almost curious. Lion-O hoped that was a good sign.

"Ok brother, I know all of this has been a bit rough for you. But I'm going to fix it, all right?"

Tygra looked at him, not sure of what exactly needed fixing, but he gave an uncertain nod. Lion-O beamed at him.

"Good. Now, I need to know how much you remember. You know that you're my brother, right?"

Tygra bit his lip. The chameleon had told him that the lion believed him to be his brother, but he couldn't for the life of him imagine how the cat had reached that conclusion. Tygra had never seen the lion before. In fact, the only lions he had ever met were king Claudus, and his mate. Yet, these cats acted like they knew him. Maybe he had had an accident, like the reptile had said. He looked at Lion-O seriously, and shook his head in negation. The lion's face fell.

"No? Don't you remember our father? King Claudus?"

Tygra scowled in confusion. He remembered the big lion, but he certainly was not his father.

"Tha' kin' s'not me dad." He said seriously. Lion-O pressed his lips in a tight line.

"You don't remember that father adopted you?"

The queen had been insisting that he could see them as his family, but he didn't want to do that. Claudus had mentioned something, and the people at the palace had been talking about the king taking the cub under his wing, but Tygra hadn't been paying much attention, so he only shrugged at Lion-O's question. The lion sighed and raked his mane with his fingers.

"But you remember him, and that you were living in Thundera?"

Tygra nodded. Lion-O thought for a second.

"Ok. What's the last thing you remember before Kraus found you?"

Tygra scowled in concentration. He recalled being yelled at by his caretaker, because he refused to eat. He had escaped when the female had turned her back on him, and had ended up in the gardens. He had walked aimlessly for a while, ignoring the whispers he had been hearing. He didn't remember clearly, it was all very fuzzy. Maybe he had fallen asleep in the gardens.

"I's in tha' ga'den. Fe' a'leep."

"You were in the gardens alone?"

Tygra nodded. Lion-O thought hard.

"Who do you remember from ho… the palace?"

Tygra inclined his head a bit to the side.

"Tha' kin, tha' quee', th'old cat, tha' lady tha' care fo' me, an' tha' g'ards."

Lion-O's scowl deepened. Tygra wasn't calling anyone by name, not even his mother.

"How long have you been in the palace?"

Tygra pressed his lips, and counted his fingers, trying to remember how many days he'd been living in Thundera. He finally shrugged. He still wasn't that good counting anyway.

"Don'ow. Ma'be fou' nighs?"

Lion-O looked at his brother, and for the first time actually realized how young the tiger was, and that he was likely to stay that way unless he somehow managed to counteract whatever magic had been cast on him.

"You really don't remember us, do you?"

Tygra shook his head shyly, and Lion-O closed his eyes. He hugged the confused cub tightly and sighed.

"It's ok Tygra. You'd get better in no-time, you'd see."

Tygra let himself be hugged. There was something about the lion that felt oddly familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. After a while, Lion-O let him go, and the thunderkittens dragged him with them. He still wasn't in the mood to play, but he went and watched them do tricks with some pebbles. Lion-O observed them for some minutes, and then submerged himself in his own thoughts. There wasn't much more to do while they reached the next town anyway.

* * *

They stopped in the late afternoon. They weren't at the plains anymore, and there wasn't a plant in sight. It was bare rock everywhere you look at, for miles around. Fortunately there was an ample path for the tank to get by. Lion-O wanted to continue a bit longer, but they had now three kittens that needed to eat and rest.

Tygra was uncomfortable and upset. He felt tired and bored, and he had no idea why he was tired in the first place. He hadn't done anything for the entire trip! He had tried to play with Snarf in the tank, but he had ended up nauseous and had throw up all over himself and one of the seats. That had been the thing that had made the cats decide they needed to stop for the day. Tygra was very embarrassed. He had no more clothing, so he had borrowed the only spare tunic they had. It was Kat's, but still too big for the little cub. Tygra didn't like it, but it was better than going around naked. The temperature had dropped, and the air was a bit cold.

Cheetara was trying to prepare something with the provisions they had, but without wood to start a fire they were technically stuck with dry meat and candy fruit. The twins went to explore, but Tygra stayed behind with Snarf. Cheetara had pointed out that it was not safe for the three years old to go exploring unknown and dangerous terrain.

Lion-O sat close to his brother and looked as the cub distractedly threw a ball to Snarf for the pet to catch. The tiger looked sad, and Lion-O feared that he could get sick. Tygra had not eaten as he should, and his throwing up in the tank had not been any help. He was also uncomfortable in Kat's clothes, which were too big for him, and didn't allow for the cub to move freely, but they didn't have anything else that Tygra could wear. As if to make the point clear, the cub tried to run after Snarf to take the ball back, and he tripped with the hem of the overlarge tunic and fell. Lion-O quickly went to pick him up, checking him for injuries. Tygra was fine, but had to use the shirt to get rid of the dirt in his hands. There wasn't enough water for him to clean properly.

Lion-O mentioned that soon they'd find some town where they could buy supplies and clothes. Tygra immediately asked for the wolves' village, and made clear that he didn't want to go anywhere but there. He wanted to return to Tana and Yero, and when Lion-O frowned and commented that it may not be possible, Tygra tensed and refused to talk any more. He cried when Cheetara attempted to give him something to eat, and the cleric glared daggers at Lion-O, evidently blaming him for the cub's depression. The young king wanted to pull out his mane in helplessness.

Once more, Tygra fell asleep without taking more than a few bites of candy fruit. Panthro even commented his surprise that the fruit didn't have the same effect in Tygra that it had with the kits. Cheetara said that maybe the tiger was so depressed, and weak for lack of proper food, that all the candy fruit could do was keep him going.

The cheetah was seriously worried for the cub. He needed to eat, and have the proper care for a three years old, or he was going to get sick. He shouldn't be travelling like they were. They didn't have any supplies for him, and were not in the position to stop every hour or even have a steady schedule. They didn't even know when they'd be arriving to the next town, or if its inhabitants were going to be friendly. She had had the scare of her life when she had seen the tank on its side and had not found any trace of Tygra inside. She had nearly collapsed in relief when they had heard Snarf and found the two of them.

She sighed as he tucked the cub in a travelling cloak, and a sleeping bag. The temperature had dropped considerably in the evening, and it promised to get even colder as the night progressed. Snarf curled at Tygra's back inside of the sleeping bag to provide more heat, and Cheetara smiled in gratefulness. Lion-O sat at her side, still finishing his food ration, and she sighed again, looking at the dark sky.

"Still not tired? It was a busy day."

"It could have been much worse Lion-O." Said the cheetah, turning to look at the young king. He turned his head down.

"Tygra could have been severely injured. It was a miracle that he got out of the mess without even a scar. But if that thing had gone for him instead of us… I don't even want to think what could have happened."

"I know." Said the lion, sighing in dejection. "He was finally talking to me, but…" He looked past Cheetara at the bundle inside the sleeping bag. Tygra looked so tiny all covered up, and with Snarf at his side. Almost absently Lion-O started to speak again.

"He needs clothes, and food, and a proper bed…"

"He needs to be safe Lion-O. He can't take care of himself. He can't fight! He'd be hard pressured to run if he'd need to. And what if something happens to us? If for some reason he gets separated from us, he'd be alone and helpless!" She sighed and put a hand on her forehead, trying to calm herself. "He misses his home Lion-O. That's part of the reason he's not eating."

"He barely remembers the palace…" Started to say Lion-O, when the cheetah interrupted him again.

"We both know that the palace is not home for him right now."

Lion-O scowled at the ground. Cheetara put a hand over his arm.

"I know that you don't like the wolves, but we really have no options here. At least Tygra would be safe with them."

Lion-O snorted, and the cheetah raised her eyebrows in question.

"I don't know. It's just that I don't really trust them. There's something about this whole mess that just seems off. But Tygra…"

He looked at the cub again and smiled with fondness despite himself. Tygra always managed to make him feel stupid, and this time the tiger wasn't even trying. The lion sighed, and leaned on his knees.

"He doesn't remember me. Doesn't know who I am. What if he just never remembers?"

Cheetara put her left arm around Lion-O's shoulders and tried to comfort him.

"He will, Lion-O. We're going to return as soon as we can, and I'm sure that we can trust Tana to not speak ill of us. You're not going to lose him Lion-O."

The king just shook his head. He didn't like the idea of letting his brother out of his sight. He felt like he should be able to care for him. Tygra would never have left him. He was sure that the tiger would have been able to keep him at his side. He had the impression that he was failing again as a brother. But he didn't want to tell that to Cheetara, so he said instead:

"Father was perfectly capable of raising both of us."

"Of course Lion-O. But king Claudus had a palace, and plenty of servants to help him. He was not on the run, chasing malevolent creatures, like us."

"You may have a point." Said the lion, still unhappy about the situation. "Let's rest for tonight. We'd see tomorrow."

Cheetara sighed. At least the lion was starting to see reason. She didn't want to leave Tygra behind more than he, but she understood that all of them were in greater danger with a cub in their midst. Hopefully, Lion-O would see that his brother was not fit for their quest in his present condition, and would decide the best for the cub's safety.

* * *

.

Panthro was standing guard a few metres away from the camp, but Lion-O couldn't sleep. He'd been thinking about his quest, and what he'd need to do before he could ask the book of Omens about a solution for Tygra's problem.

The lion was sitting beside the cub, to provide cover from the biting cold air. Lion-O was wondering what he could do to ensure that his brother was really going to be safe if he decided to leave him with the wolves, when the brother in question started to whimper and curl further under his covers. Lion-O jumped into action when the sobs started, realizing that Tygra must be having a nightmare. He fought a bit with the sleeping bag, but managed to pull a trembling and crying cub into his arms. Tygra was still covered with the travelling cloak. Lion-O put away the hood, so he could see his brother's face. He did his best to clean the tears running down the tiger's cheeks and started to rock back and forth, not sure of what else he could do to calm the cub.

"Shh… Easy, Tygra. It's ok, it was only a bad dream. You're safe with me brother."

He rubbed the cub's back rhythmically until the sobs subsided a little and Tygra started hiccupping. Lion-O offered him some water, and waited for the cub to calm down a bit more before attempting to question him.

"Better now?"

Tygra gave a tiny nod and sniffled. Lion-O cleaned his face with the hem of the cloak.

"Do you want to tell me about your dream? Sometimes it helps." Said Lion-O, remembering when he himself had been a cub and Tygra had comforted him after a nightmare. He wanted to make a good impression now that the roles were reversed. To his surprise, the tiger flinched and in a tiny voice asked, without looking at him.

"You no' mad?"

Lion-O blinked and caressed gently his brother's head.

"Why should I be mad? You've done nothing wrong Tygra. You just had a bad dream."

Tygra sniffled again, and dropped his head shamefully.

"Tha' lady at tha' palace yelle' a me fo' 'akin 'er up."

Lion-O suppressed a growl. No wonder his brother was so skittish around them. He hugged the cub tightly and kissed his forehead.

"She shouldn't have done that. It's not your fault you had a bad dream. Everyone has them once in a while."

Tygra moved and lifted his face to look at him.

"'eally?"

Lion-O smiled at the cub.

"Yes Tygra." He touched the tiger's nose playfully. The cub made a funny face and smiled. "Now, do you want to talk about your dream? It does help to have someone listening to you."

The little tiger bit his lip, and looked doubtful for a moment. Then, his eyes misted over again, and his lip trembled.

"The' was fi'e… evyw'ere… an' 'ckeamin'… an' mom was runin…"

He started to sob again, and Lion-O cradled him to his chest.

"Shh… It's ok, it's ok. It's over now Tygra. There's no more fire. You're safe now."

"… I-I… I wanna go home…" Said the cub between sobs.

Lion-O bit his lip. He didn't want to let go of his brother, but he couldn't give Tygra the support and stability that the cub needed at the moment.

'_Whiskers.'_ He thought.

He didn't know what to do. Turning back was to lose four days. But he couldn't risk his brother's health. What other option did he have?

"It's ok Tygra. We… We'd see tomorrow. Maybe we can go back sooner…"

The little tiger sat up and looked hopefully at Lion-O.

"'eally? Pomiss?"

The Lion smiled at his brother and nodded. The cub squeaked in happiness and put his arms around the bigger cat's neck, trying to hug him. Lion-O held his brother tightly, mindful of the little frame. Cheetara spied them from her spot, and smiled. Maybe now things will get better. Lion-O was about to put Tygra to sleep again, when Panthro came running upon them.

"Wake up! Everyone!"

"Panthro? What's wrong?"

The rumbling tremors of the ground that hit them seconds later indicated that something rather big was approaching. Cheetara was up instantly, and the kits woke up to the panther's insistence.

"Wha…?"

"What's going on?"

"Hurry! We don't have time, they're right upon us!"

"How many?" Asked Lion-O, getting ready to fight.

"I'm not sure, it's hard to see, and the rocky terrain doesn't help. It's either run before they notice us, or fight almost blind."

"Too late to make a choice Thundercat."

The surprised cats jumped away as several scout lizards fired on them. Panthro was inside the tank in a second, just in time to answer the fire of the machines that had noticed the blasts of laser from the scouts. Cheetara managed to knock out the lizards that had busted them while Lion-O gave Tygra to Wilykit.

"You three, go and find a place to hide! Don't come out until we call you! Keep Tygra safe, go on!"

"Yes Lion-O."

The thunderkittens disappeared with Snarf trailing after them, leaving the adults to sort out the attack.

The kits ran as far away from the battle as they could before finding a convenient crevice to hide and spy the outcome. Tygra disentangled himself from Kit's arms and the travelling cloak, and looked fearfully at the display of lights that the blasts of the machines created. The noise and the brightness made him think of fire, and he grabbed Wilykit's arm in panic.

"W'as happ'nin?"

The girl hugged the tiger cub and tried to reassure him.

"Don't worry Tygra. Lion-O and the others are going to beat the lizards. We're going to be ok."

Tygra didn't understand very well. He was about to ask again what was the problem, when a large figure appeared just in front of them.

"Well, well, well. Look what I found! Are the kittens lost?"

Kit immediately pulled Tygra behind her, while her brother took out some explosives. The boy threw his grenades at the impressive figure of Grune, then turned, grabbed Tygra, and ran alongside his sister.

The kits tried to be fast, but with the cub in their arms they only could hope to use the rocks as protection.

"That wasn't very nice. You're not going far kittens!"

There was a loud noise, as Grune hit the ground with his weapon. The earthquake that the hit elicited made the thunderkittens more concerned with dodging the falling rocks than hiding. Suddenly, Kit found herself tangled in a net while Kat tripped and let go of Tygra. The cub started running, but he didn't make it far before he was grabbed by the back of his neck and lifted unceremoniously. He screamed and tried to scratch the offending paw away, but pressure on a certain point made him go limp. He soon was looking directly to the ugly face of a rather big cat, with one large tooth protruding from his mouth. The traitorous ex-general looked for one moment in bafflement at the cub, and then started laughing.

"Tygra? Is this the prince? Ha, ha, ha! Well, this is certainly a most unforeseen development!"

"Let him go! You big bully!"

Kat was just about to bodily attack the sabretooth while Snarf jumped to the traitor's face. Grune hit Snarf with his weapon and sent him flying away. Then, he kicked Kat in the stomach, and threw him into the rocks. Tygra mewled in distress and the ex-general turned his attention back to him.

"Oh, Mum-Ra is going to have so much fun with this!"

Out of nowhere, a laser hit the ground at Grune's feet, and the cat turned around, weapon ready, to confront the enemy. With a quick movement, he tucked Tygra under his left arm, and dispelled another two blasts of laser, using his weapon as a shield. A voice came from the shadows in front of him.

"You better let the cub go, cat."

"Show yourself! I may as soon decide to kill the little kitten… Arghh!"

A blast at his back interrupted Grune. Suddenly Tygra slipped from under his arm, and he found himself being attacked from two fronts. He discharged his massive weapon several times, but apparently could never hit a target.

He retreated towards the light of the battle, and a hover arrived at his side. The lizard aboard asked for orders, and Grune lost no time in jumping on the vehicle. He looked at the battle. Several machines had exploded and were burning uselessly. The few that remained were still attacking the Thundercats, but he could see that the infernal tank and Lion-O were doing an excellent job of destroying them. Grune ordered a tactical retry. The hover departed quickly, followed by the only two machines that survived the battle.

Wilykit and Wilykat looked in amazement as the shadows around them took form, and three black wolves freed them.


End file.
